EXCHANGE 


THE  MASTERPIECES 


OHIO  MOUND  BUILDERS 


THE  HILLTOP  FORTIFICATIONS 


INCLUDING 


FORT  ANCIENT 


BY  E.  O.  RANDALL 

Secretary  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and  Historical   Society 


COLUMBUS,  OHIO 

PUBLISHED   BY  THE  SOCIETY 
1916 


n  4- 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


THIS  little  volume  makes  no  pretense  of  being  a  scientific 
or  technical  treatise  on  the  Ohio  Mound  Builders  or  their 
works.  Its  aim  is  to  briefly  describe  the  chief  relics  of 
the  Ohio  Mound  Builders  as  they  now  appear,  and  as  they 
appeared  when  found  in  their  original  condition,  or  when  first 
studied  by  archaeological  students.  Some  twelve  years  ago  the 
author  became  the  Secretary  of  the  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and 
Historical  Society.  The  duties  of  his  office  were  confined  to  the 
executive  affairs  of  the  Society  and  the  work  of  the  Society  along 
its  historical  lines.  The  archaeological  department  has  been  in  the 
care  of  specialists  in  that  subject.  Professor  G.  Frederick  Wright, 
Warren  K.  Moore'head,  Gerard  Fowke,  Professor  W.  C.  Mills  and 
others  connected  with  the  Society  have  given  their  attention  to  the 
prehistoric  researches  and  have  produced  many  valuable  publica 
tions  as  the  result  of  their  investigations.  The  author  of  the  pages 
herewith  issued  naturally  came  in  contact  with  the  work  of  these 
scholars  and  acquired  an  irresistible  interest  in  the  subject  —  a 
subject  fraught  with  fascination  because  of  its  uniqueness  and 
mystery.  The  author  has  visited  all  the  earthen  works  herein 
described  — •  some  of  them  many  times  — •  so  that  the  descriptions  are 
those  of  first  hand,  "views  taken  on  the  spot."  This  volume  is 
confined  to  the  Hilltop  Fortifications.  The  author  hopes  at  no 
distant  day  to  supplement  these  studies  with  descriptions  of  the 
chief  Lowland  Enclosures,  Mounds  and  Village  sites.  The  so- 
called  great  religious  relic  of  these  lost  people,  known  as  Serpent 
Mound,  has  'been  minutely  treated  by  the  author  in  a  volume 
recently  published  by  the  Society. 

E.  O.  RANDALL. 
February,  1908. 


078(23 


CAHOKIA  MOUND. 


During  a  sojourn  in  that  fairyland  of  modern 
marvels,  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  held  at 
St.  Louis,  in  the  summer  of  1904,  it  was  the  privilege 
of  the  writer  in  company  with  a  party  includ- 


Cahokia  Mound  as  Originally  Appearing. 

ing  several  students  of  American  Archaeology,  to 
make  an  inspection  of  the  world-famed  Caholda 
Mound.  We  crossed  the  sweeping  Mississippi  to  the 
Illinois  side,  over  the  colossal  bridge,  one  of  the  engi 
neering  achievements  of  modern  invention  and  skill, 
which,  had  it  existed  in  the  ancient  days  of  oriental 
glory,  would  have  been  regarded,  if  not  the  first,  then 

(l) 


2  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

'Easily  the  eighth  wonder  of  the  world.  A  half  hour's 
ride  on  a  swift  speeding  trolley  car  bore  us  inland 
some  six  •)r«iles>  landing  us  almost  at  the  base  of 
the  great  mound  —  called  respectively  "Cahokia 
Mound/'  from  the  Indian  tribe  which  formerly  inhab 
ited  the  locality,  and  the  "Monks'  Mound,"  from  the 
fact  that  in  the  year  1810  a  colony  of  Trappists  set 
tled  thereabouts  and  occupied  a  monastic  building, 
which  they  erected  on  the  summit  of  the  mound.  After 
only  a  few  years'  sojourn,  the  solitude  seeking  relig 
ionists  returned  to  France.  But  little  evidence  re 
mains  of  their  occupancy. 

The  Mound  Builders  never  failed  to  exercise  saga 
cious  judgment  in  their  choice  of  sites  for  habitation 
or  the  erection  of  their  chief  structures.  No  better 
place  could  have  been  found  for  the  Cahokia  and  its 
surrounding  mounds  than  in  the  upper  Mississippi 
valley  near  the  juncture  of  the  Missouri  from  the 
West  and  the  Illinois  from  the  Northeast,  a  strateget- 
ical  point  on  the  main  waterways  of  the  vast  North 
west.  For  many  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Mis 
souri,  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  broadens  into 
a  plain  some  eight  or  ten  miles  in  width,  interrupted 
by  a  line  of  bluffs  which  form  its  eastern  boundary. 
This  stretch  of  level  surface  composed  of  rich,  fertile, 
alluvial  deposit  is  known  as  the  "American  Bottom." 
Several  creeks  cross  it  from  its  eastern  limit  to  the 
Mississippi  and  many  little  lakes  formerly  clotted  the 
thick  growths  of  timber  and  prolific  underbrush  that 
in  the  early  days  must  have  clothed  it.  This  was  a 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  3 

prime  hunting  territory  for  fish,  fowl  and  game,  well 
adapted  to  the  primitive  life  of  a  prehistoric  people, 
Near  the  center  of  this  bottom  and  just  south  of  its 
chief  stream,  the  Cahokia  stands  to-day,  as  it  has, 
stood  for  untold  centuries,  the  most  massive  and  im 
posing  monument  of  the  Mound  Builders  in  this 
country  and  probably  in  the  world.  Surrounding 
this  mound,  within  a  radius  of  two  or  three  miles,  in 
a  more  or  less  perfect  state  of  preservation,  in  vary 
ing  shapes  and  sizes,  from  ten  to  sixty  feet  in  height, 
are  some  fifty  lesser  mounds.  At  still  greater  distances 
from  the  center  structure,  in  groups  or  isolated  ex 
amples,  are  many  more.  Great  numbers  have  been 
obliterated.  Doubtless  in  the  days  of  the  "Golden 
Era"  of  the  Mound  Builder,  hundreds  of  mounds 
dotted  the  American  Bottom.  Scores  of  these  strange 
earth-heaps  originally  occupied  the  site  of  St.  Louis 
and  were  demolished  to  make  way  for  the  lengthen 
ing  streets  and  spreading  squares  of  that  metropolis. 
On  these  banks  of  the  mighty  river  must  have  been  a 
vast  population  whose  labors  were  almost  incredible 
in  their  results  as  evidenced  by  the  relics  still  extant. 
Cahokia  Mound  is  a  truncated  rectangular  pyra 
mid,  rising  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  feet  above  the 
original  surface  upon  which  it  was  built.  The 
dimensions  of  its  base  are :  from  north  to  south,  1,080 
feet ;  from  east  to  west,  710  feet.  The  area  of  the 
base  is  therefore  something  over  sixteen  acres.  This 
is  a  greater  area  than  the  base  of  the  Pyramid  of 
Cheops  —  the  greatest  of  the  Egyptian  tombs.  The 


4  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

size  may  be  better  understood  when  compared  with 
the  State  House  square  in  Columbus,  which  measur 
ing  from  fence  to  fence  is  ten  acres  in  space ;  taking 
in  the  width  of  the  four  surrounding  streets  gives 
nearly  the  area  of  the  great  mound.  The  mound  Avas 


Plan  of  Cahokia  Mound  from  Above,  Showing  Worn  Sides. 

originally  a  curious  series  of  receding  terraces,  four 
in  number.  The  peculiar  design  will  be  better  under 
stood  by  the  accompanying  illustrations,  than  by  any 
attempted  verbal  description. 

In  the  plan  representing  the  structure  as  appear 
ing  when  viewed  from  above,  the  lowest  terrace  (B) 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  5 

extends  500  feet  from  east  to  west  and  200  feet  from 
north  to  south.  From  the  south  face  of  that  terrace, 
a  point  (A)  having  the  appearance  of  a  graded  ap 
proach,  prospects  due  south  from  a  distance  of  about 
eighty  feet.  The  second  terrace  (C)  is  at  the  present 
time  badly  gutted  and  worn  away,  which  makes  it 
difficult  to  ascertain  the  exact  size  or  elevation.  The 
next  terrace  (D)  has  an  elevation  of  ninety-seven 
feet  above  the  original  mound  base  surface.  Near 
the  center  of  this  terrace  there  formerly  stood  a  small 
conical  mound,  long  since  destroyed.  The  fourth 
terrace  (E)  is  now  the  most  elevated  platform  of 
the  mound.  Its  greatest  height  is  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  plain  or  three  feet  above  the  third  terrace; 
it  was  probably  higher  in  its  pristine  condition. 
The  area  of  this  summit  terrace  is  about  200  by  IfiO 
feet.  The  dark  line  on  the  left  of  the  mound,  lead 
ing  from  the  base  to  the  summit,  is  a  modern  path 
way  for  easy  ascent.  The  contents  of  this  mound 
have  been  estimated  to  considerably  exceed  one  mil 
lion  cubic  yards  of  earth ;  and  the  labor  of  loading 
and  unloading  this  material  or  carrying  it  from  a 
likely  distance  would  occupy  2,500  men  tAVO  years, 
Avorking  every  day  in  the  year.  There  is  little  dis 
pute  among  scientists  concerning  the  conclusion  that 
this  is  an  artificial  mound.  Those  who  have  made 
geological  demonstrations  and  archaeological  explora 
tions  have  generally  agreed  that  this  enormous  pile 
of  earth  was  built  by  a  primitive  and  prehistoric 
people  and,  so  far  as  any  evidence  can  be  shown, 


6  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

built  by  hands  with  implements  of  the  crudest  and 
most  primitive  character.     There  are,  hoAvever,  not- 


Cahokia    Mound  —  East    Side. 

able  exceptions  to  this  agreement.     Professor  Daniel 
G.  Brinton,  formerly  of  the  Pennsylvania  University 


Cahokia    Mound  —  West    Side. 

and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Americanists  of 
this   country,   says:      "It   is   doubtful    whether   this 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  7 

(mound)  is  wholly  an  artificial  construction/'  and 
lie  cites  Professor  Spencer  Smith  as  saying  it  is 
"largely  a  natural  formation."  There  are  always 
skeptics  no  matter  how  overwhelming  the  proof. 

This  truncated,  terraced  form  of  mound  had  its 
analogy  in  many  of  the  temples  of  Mexico  and  Cen 
tral  America  and  indeed  in  many  of  the  early  works 
of  oriental  nations.  Such  is  the  monarch,  man-made 
mountain  as  it  was  raised  above  the  plain  in  the 
midst  of  this  Mound  Builders'  country. 

The  first  view,  to  the  archaeological  student,  is  apt 
to  be  dispelling  of  a  preconceived  idea,  which  is  usu 
ally  that  of  the  mound  in  its  architectural  prime.  Its 
original  clear  cut  lines  and  arithmetical  proportions 
are  blunted  by  the  wear  of  age.  Deep  furrows  have 
marred  its  sides  and  wrinkled  its  front.  Though  re 
sisting  valiantly,  it  has  bowed  to  the  storms  of  nature 
and  the  vandal  assaults  of  civilized  man. 

We  climbed  the  jagged  flank  to  the  summit  and 
stood  upon  the  elevation  that  lifted  us  above  the 
surrounding  plain.  It  was  an  amiable  afternoon  in 
September;  the  sun  had  crossed  the  Mississippi,  and 
well  on  his  way  to  the  western  horizon,  cast  a  mellow 
tone  over  the  landscape  that  lay  before  us.  The  broad 
valley  gave  us  a  peaceful  and  pleasing  view — stretch 
ing  to  the  east  till  cut  off  by  the  dim  outline  of  the 
uplands;  to  the  west  to  the  great  "Father  of  Waters" 
which  like  an  irresistible  flood  plowed  its  way  to  the 
Mexican  Gulf.  Round  about  on  every  hand,  like  con 
trasting  features  of  a  race  vanished  and  forgotten 


8  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

and  a  people  now  world  predominant,  were  inter 
spersed  the  weather  beaten  and  depleted  mounds  and 
the  prosperous  farm  homes.  In  many  instances  these 
homes  were  built  on  the  mounds,  typifying  the  con 
quest  of  ciyilization  over  savagery,  the  inevitable  sur 
vival  of  the  fittest.  It  Avas  a  scene  for  the  historian 
and  the  philosopher,  the  artist  and  the  poet.  As  one 
writer  observes :  "There  was  a  double  presence  which 
was  forced  upon  the  mind  —  the  presence  of  those 
who  since  the  beginning  of  historic  times  have  visited 
the  region  and  gazed  upon  this  very  monument  and 
written  descriptions  of  it,  one  after  the  other,  until 
a  volume  of  literature  has  accumulated;  and  the 
presence  of  those  who  in  prehistoric  times  filled  tho 
valley  with  their  works,  but  were  unable  to  make  any 
record  of  themselves  except  such  as  is  contained  in 
these  silent  witnesses."  Here  certainly  was  one  of 
the  great  centers,  if  not  the  chief  center,  in  the  west 
ern  continent  of  this  myterious  people.  Many  writers 
and  students  conclude  that  if  the  Mound  Builders  of 
the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  United  States  had 
a  central  government,  it  must  from  all  evidences, 
have  been  located  here  in  the  American  Bottom  of 
the  Mississippi  valley.  Here  in  greatest  number  were 
found  their  largest  monuments,  which  bear  testi 
mony  to  their  patience  and  industry  and  long  so 
journ.  In  the  mounds  and  in  the  intervening  fields 
were  found  astonishing  quantities  of  human  bones, 
and  crude  stone  implements  of  Avar  and  of  domestic 
life,  simple  but  eloquent  witnesses  of  the  most  primi- 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  9 

tive  stage  of  human  progress.  No  copper  or  iron 
artifacts  were  found.  These  people  had  never 
emerged  from  the  age  of  stone  —  the  rocky  road  of 
life. 

And  was  this  gigantic  earthen  structure  their 
temple,  their  religious  tabernacle,  the  "great  central 
shrine  of  the  Mound  Builders'  empire/'  "upon  which," 
suggests  one  writer  and  distinguished  scholar,  "one 
hundred  feet  above  the  plain,  were  their  sanctuaries, 
glittering  with  barbaric  splendor  and  where  could  be 
seen  from  afar  the  smoke  and  flames  of  the  eternal 
fire,  their  emblem  of  the  sun." 

"This  mound  stands,"  writes  Professor  Stephen 
D.  Peet,  "like  a  solemn  monarch,  lonely  in  its  gran 
deur,  but  imposing  in  its  presence.  Though  the  smoke 
of  the  great  city  may  be  seen  in  the  distance  and 
many  trains  go  rumbling  across  the  valley  and 
through  the  great  bridge  which  spans  the  river,  yet 
this  monster  stands  as  a  mute  witness  of  a  people 
which  has  passed  away.  It  is  a  silent  statute,  a 
sphinx,  which  still  keeps  within  its  depths  the  mys 
tery  which  no  one  1ms  yet  fathomed.  It  perpetuates 
the  riddle  of  the  sphinx." 

Was  it  some  mighty  tomb  erected  to  be  the  fit 
ting  mausoleum  of  a  grent  conqueror  or  chief - 
some  terrible  Attila,  or  invincible  Alaric,  a  Caesar 
or  Napoleon  of  savage  days?  Small  wonder  that  the 
scene  presented  from  that  Cahokia  summit  awakened 
one's  curiosity  and  stirred  one's  imagination.  Mar 
velous  relic  —  preservation  of  a  prehistoric  people, 


10          Masterpieces  of  tlic  Mound  Builders. 

looming  like  the  dome  of  a  cathedral  from  the  level 
valley  —  the  arena  in  which  a  vast  race  had  lived 
and  toiled,  had  come,  seen  and  perhaps  had  con 
quered,  achieved  their  ambitions  and  proudly  ex 
pended  their  energies.  A  race  of  mystery,  whence 
and  when  it  came,  whither  or  when  it  went,  no  man 
knoweth  unto  this  day.  All  is  locked  in  impenetrable 
secrecy.  As  my  companions  were  discussing  the  an- 
solved  riddle  of  the  past,  there  came  to  our  memory 
Volney's  Meditations  on  the  "Ruins  of  Empires ;" 
seated  amid  the  demolished  architectural  splendors 
of  Palmyra  in  the  Syrian  plain  of  the  historic 
Euphrates,  there  passed  before  his  "mind's  eye"  the 
representatives  of  buried  dynasties  and  dead  faiths. 
What  a  chance  Avas  here  at  Cahokia  for  some  his- 
torico-philosophic  dreamer  "to  interrogate  ancient 
monuments  on  the  wisdom  of  past  times."  Surely 
here  were  the  remains  of  a  vast  and  vanished  empire. 
In  this  valley  of  the  Mississippi  had  flourished,  who 
knows  how  long  ago,  a  mighty  nation;  they  had 
builded  better  than  they  knew,  for  their  simple  and 
stupendous  structures  had  survived  "the  tooth  of 
time  and  razure  of  oblivion." 

The  Mound  Builder  had  certainly  founded  his 
kingdom ;  it  had  flourished,  for  he  had  erected  imper 
ishable  and  inscrutable  memorials;  imposing  struc 
tures  that  survived  ages  and  races.  Could  some  wiz 
ard's  wand  recall  the  procession  of  the  people  who  had 
made  their  entrees  and  their  exits  in  this  Mississippi 
valley,  what  a  varied  and  graphic  panorama  would 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  11 

be  unfolded!  The  Mound  Builders  had  dwelt  here 
in  great  numbers  and  power  for  generations,  only  to 
join  "the  innumerable  caravan  that  moves  to  that 
mysterious  realm"  which  is  the  destiny  of  races  as  of 
men ;  then  came  at  least  one  other  savage  successor, 
the  child  of  the  forest,  the  Indian ;  bitter  and  bloody 
was  the  struggle  of  his  stay,  but  his  happy  hunting 
grounds  were  to  be  the  dwelling  place  of  the  pale 


Original   Cahokia   Mound. 

face.  Yes,  even  the  white  intruder,  the  European 
usurper,  had  made  this  American  Bottom  memorable ; 
it  had  been  the  field  of  the  national  contest  for  supre 
macy  in  the  Western  World;  in  turn  the  Spaniard, 
the  Frenchman,  the  Briton  and  the  American  had 
struggled  for  this  winning  of  the  West ;  here  DeSoto 
and  his  gaily  attired  cavaliers  had  planted  the  flac:  of 
Castile  and  Aragon;  here  the  Jesuit  priest  and  the 
adventurous  couriers  de  hois  had  sought  favor  with 


12          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

the  rednien  and  claimed  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi 
for  La  Belle  France;  here  the  insatiable  Anglo-Saxon 
had  supplanted  the  banner  of  the  Bourbons  with  the 
standard  of  St.  George  and  the  Dragon;  and  here 
that  patriotic  and  dauntless  "Washington  of  the 
West/'  Colonel  George  lingers  Clark  and  his  heroic 
little  band  of  Virginia  riflemen  had  carried  in  tri 
umph  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  saved  the  Northwest 
Territory  to  the  infant  republic;  and  now  "last  scene 
of  all  that  ends  this  strange  eventful  history/'  the 
peaceful  homes  of  the  American  farmer  crown  the 
summits  of  the  temples  of  the  Mound  Builders.  Is 
tliis  the  final  chapter  or  are  others  yet  to  be  written? 
Macauley,  in  his  famous  prophecy,  wrote:  "She 
(Rome)  saw  the  commencement  of  all  the  govern 
ments  and  of  all  the  ecclesiastical  establishments 
that  now  exist  in  the  world;  and  we  feel  no  assur 
ance  that  she  is  not  destined  to  see  the  end  of  them 
all.  She  was  great  and  respected  before  the  Saxon 
had  set  foot  on  Britain,,  —  before  the  French  had 
passed  the  Rhine,  —  when  Grecian  eloquence  still 
flourished  at  Antioch,  —  when  idols  were  still  wor 
shipped  in  the  temple  of  Mecca.  And  she  may  still 
exist  in  undiminished  vigor  when  some  traveller  from 
New  Zealand  shall,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  solitude, 
take  his  stand  on  a  broken  arch  of  London  Bridge  to 
sketch  the  ruins  of  St.  Paul." 

So  the  Mound  Builder  was  here  before  European 
civilization  found  its  foothold  on  the  Western  Con 
tinent,  and  his  relics  have  survived  centuries  of  civil- 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  13 

ized  conflict;  perhaps  a  cycle  hence  some  representa 
tive  of  another  race  yet  unborn,  the  ultimate  racial 
composite  man,  may  stand  upon  the  summit  of  Caho- 
kia  and  as  he  wonders  over  its  age  and  origin  may 
look  about  him  and  witness  the  ruins  of  an  antique 
American  Republic  while  he  recalls  the  poet's  sum 
mary  : 

"There  is  the  moral  of  all  human  tales ; 

Tis  but  the  same  rehearsal  of  the  past. 
First  freedom,  and  then   glory  —  when   that   falls, 

Wealth,  vice,  corruption,  —  barbarian  at  last, 
And  history,  with  all   its   volumes  vast, 

Hath  but  one  page." 


THE  OHIO  MOUND  BUILDERS. 


Just  what  relation,  geographical  and  ethnological, 
the  builders  of  the  mounds  bore  to  the  Mississippi 
valley  and  its  branch  basins  will  probably  never  be 
fully  known.  So  far  as  the  evidences,  discovered  by 
the  early  European  intruder,  can  testify,  the  portion 
of  the  United  States  embraced  within  the  central  val 
ley  named  and  its  tributaries,  was  the  chief  domain 
and  center  of  those  peculiar  people,  who  for  want  of 
a  better  or  more  specific  appellation  we  designate 
as  the  Mound  Builders.  Whether  this  domain  was 
the  land  of  his  origin,  a  great  way  station  in  the  pil 
grimage  of  his  race  through  its  earthly  existence,  or 
was  the  terminus  of  prolonged  peregrinations,  has 
not  been  determined.  The  latest  developments  of  sci 
ence  in  the  effort  to  locate  the  cradle  of  the  human 
race,  suggests,  with  much  plausible  argument,  the 
shifting  of  humanity's  nativity  from  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Possibly 
science  and  scholarship,  keen  and  indefatigable,  may 
some  day  rend  the  veil  and  reveal  the  past  of  the  ear 
liest  aboriginal  Americans.  Of  the  results  of  the  lat 
est  investigations  and  the  sequential  conclusions  of 
ethnology  and  archaeology,  we  shall  speak  later  on. 
The  accumulated  literature,  concerning  these  mys 
terious  people  and  their  monuments,  by  official  au- 

(14) 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  15 

thorities,  voluntary  scientists,  amateur  investigators, 
poetic  romancers  and  irresponsible,  irrepressible  and 
illiterate  dreamers,  is  appalling  in  quantity,  contra 
dictory  in  statement  and  theory,  conflicting  in  con 
clusions  and  often  amusing  and  absurd.  Xo  key  of 
knowledge  has  yet  been  found  to  unlock  the  enigma 
of  the  Mound  Builder's  existence.  Hence  the  Mound 
Builder  and  his  "doings"  afford  untrammeled  scope 
for  the  imagination ;  he  has  been  the  subject  of 
boundless  speculation  and  wildest  conjecture;  he 
left  literally  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time,  but  their 
trail  leads  only  to  oblivion;  he  left  no  written  rec 
ords,  and  his  temples  tell  no  tales  as  to  their  time  or 
purpose;  his  only  answer  to  every  conceivable  guess 
concerning  his  source,  age  and  destiny  is  his  un 
broken  silence;  like  the  Sphinx  of  Egypt  his  sealed 
lips  give  back  no  reply,  no  hint,  to  the  myriad  queries 
as  to  his  identity.  The  Mound  Builder  is  the  race 
with  the  Iron  Mask;  nor  is  there  likelihood  that  his 
racial  features  will  ever  be  revealed,  for  no  oracle  of 
learning  has  yet  been  enticed  to  betray  his  secret. 
The  Mound  Builder,  whoever  he  was,  displayed  his 
activities  in  a  spacious  arena.  No  pent  up  Utica  con 
tracted  his  powers  and  if  the  whole  boundless  con 
tinent  was  not  his,  a  large  part  of  it  was.  His  works 
extended  from  the  sources  of  the  Alleghany,  in  west 
ern  New  York  on  the  east,  to  the  Rocky  Mountain 
range  on  the  west,  and  in  some  instances  on  to  the 
Pacific  slope;  the  Mound  Builder  is  almost  unknown 
in  Xew  England;  he  is  found  in  lower  Canada,  but 


16          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

evidently  avoided  the  colder  climates;  in  the  south 
he  was  much  in  evidence,  his  works  lined  the  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  Texas  to  Florida  and 
were  found  in  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  Missis 
sippi,  the  Carolinas,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  The 
Northwest  Territory,  however,  produces  evidences  of 
densest  population;  at  least  there  his  habitations 
were  most  numerous  and  important.  In  Wisconsin 
his  character  apparently  took  on  a  "religious  turn," 
for  along  its  larger  river  courses,  he  adorned  the 
sides  and  summits  of  the  hills  with  innumerable  "effi 
gies"  of  animals,  birds,  reptiles  and  human  beings  — 
presumptively  tributes  to  his  superstitious  belief  or 
symbols  of  his  crude  worship,  possibly  emblematic 
totems  of  his  various  tribes.  Michigan  did  not  greatly 
receive  his  attention;  mounds  occur  frequently  in 
Indiana,  but  are  prolific  in  Illinois  as  we  have  noted. 
Ohio  was  a  region  for  which  he  displayed  most 
remarkable  partiality.  The  banks  of  "La  Belle  Ri 
viere,"  as  the  early  French  called  the  majestic  Ohio, 
and  the  pictureque  and  fertile  valleys  of  the  Miamis, 
the  Scioto,  the  Muskingum  and  lesser  streams  were 
the  scenes  of  his  most  numerous,  most  extensive  and 
most  "continuous  performances."  It  has  been  asserted, 
without  dispute,  that  the  localities  in  Ohio,  which 
testify  to  the  Mound  Builders'  presence,  outnumber 
the  total  localities  of  his  evidential  habitation  in  all 
the  rest  of  the  country.  Ohio  Avas  the  great  "State" 
in  prehistoric  times,  for  over  twelve  thousand  places 
in  the  present  state-limits  have  been  found  and  noted, 


Masterpieces  of  tlic  lloand  Builders.  17 

where  the  Mound  Builder  left  his  testimonial.  These 
enclosures  on  the  hill  tops,  the  plain  or  river  bottoms, 
walled-in  areas,  each  embracing  from  one  to  three 
hundred  acres  in  space,  enclosures  presenting  a  vari 
ety  in  design,  size  and  method  of  construction,  un- 
equaled  elsewhere,  exceed  fifteen  hundred  in  number, 
while  thousands  of  single  mounds  of  varying  cir 
cumference  and  height  were  scattered  over  the  cen 
tral  and  southwestern  part  of  the  state.  One  thing- 
is  clearly  demonstrated  by  this  tremendous  "show 
ing,"  viz.,  that  these  people  either  continued  in 
more  or  less  sparse  numbers  through  a  long  space 
of  time  or  they  prevailed  in  vast  numbers  during 
a  more  or  less  brief,  contemporaneous  period,  for 
it  has  been  estimated  that  the  "earthly  productions'' 
of  their  labor,  now  standing  in  Ohio,  if  placed 
side  by  side  in  a  continuous  line,  would  ex 
tend  over  three  hundred  miles  or  farther  than  from 
Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  and  that  they  contain  at  least 
thirty  million  cubic  yards  of  earth  or  stone,  and  that 
it  would  require  one  thousand  men,  each  man  work 
ing  three  hundred  days  in  the  year  and  carrying  one 
wagon  load  of  material  the  required  distance,  a  cen 
tury  to  complete  these  artificial  formations;  or  it 
would  take  three  hundred  thousand  men  one  year  to 
accomplish  the  same  result.  Supposing  the  laborers 
were  exclusively  men  and  allowing  the  conventional 
average  family  to  each,  there  would  have  been  a  popu 
lation  far  exceeding  a  million  people.  Whether  these 
different  structures  were  built  synchronously  or  near 
2 


18  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

the  same  period,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  The 
structures  were  almost  without  exception  completed 
before  being  abandoned ;  they  left  no  unfinished  work, 
from  which  it  might  be  inferred  that  they  did  not  de 
part  prematurely  nor  in  haste.  Their  works  after 
their  abandonment  were  not  disturbed,  except  that 
the  single  mounds  Avere  occasionally  utilized  by  the 
Indians  for  intrusive  burials.  The  conqueror  of  the 
Mound  Builder,  if  he  had  one,  had  respect  for  the 
spoils  of  conquest  and  left  the  victorious  monuments 
inviolate  and  intact;  pity  it  is  the  same  cannot  be 
said  for  his  pale  faced  successor. 

This  white  man's  vandalism  as  compared  with  the 
red  man's  reverence  for  the  mortuary  monuments  of 
the  vanished  race  is  interestingly  expressed  in  the 
poetic  lines  of  Mr.  Thomas  Backus,  one  of  the  earliest 
poets  of  the  Capital  City.  The  sentiment  was  sug 
gested  by  the  incident  that  a  large  and  beautiful 
mound  standing  in  the  precincts  of  the  original  plat 
for  Columbus  was  demolished,  the  clay  taken  there 
from  and  used  as  the  material  for  the  bricks  with 
which  the  first  State  House  Avas  built.  In  this  mound 
Avere  found  many  graves  filled  with  the  crumbling 
bones  of  the  unrecorded  but  honored  dead. 

Oh  Town !    consecrated  before 
The  white  man's  foot  e'er  trod  our  shore, 
To  battle's  strife  and  valour's  grave, 
Spare !    oh  spare,  the  buried  grave. 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          19 

Oh,  Mound;  consecrated  before 
The  White  man's   foot  e'er  trod  on  shore 
To  battle's   strife  and  valour's   grave, 
Spare :  oh,   spare,  the  buried  brave. 

A  thousand   winters   passed   away, 
And  yet  demolished  not  the  clay, 
Which  on  yon   hillock  held  in  trust 
The  quiet  of  the   warrior's   dust. 

The  Indian  came  and  went  again ; 
He   hunted   through   the   lengthened   plain ; 
And  from  the  mound  he  oft  beheld 
The  present  silent  battlefield. 

But  did  the  Indian  e'er  presume, 
To   violate   that   ancient  tomb? 
Ah,  no  :  he  had  the  soldier's  grace 
Which  spares  the   soldier's  resting  place. 

It   is   alone   for    Christian   hand 
To   sever  that  sepulchral  band, 
Which   even   to   the   view   is    spread, 
To  bind  the   living  to  the  dead. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  treatise  to  attempt 
any  exhaustive  or  minute  account  or  detailed  enum 
eration  of  the  vestiges  left  by  this  people.  Rather 
is  it  the  intention  to  mention,  with  more  or  less  brief 
portrayal,  the  masterpieces  of  the  different  classes  of 
their  exploits.  We,  of  course,  confine  our  recital  to  the 
works  extant  in  the  present  limits  of  Ohio.  We  will 
pass  these  works  in  review  and  discuss  their  origin 
in  the  following  order:  (1)  Walled  enclosures,  (2) 


20          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

Single  mounds,  (3)  Village  sites  and  burial  grounds, 
and  (4)  Theories  respecting  the  identity  and  exist 
ence  of  the  Mound  Builder. 

The  so-called  "enclosures"  include  a  great  variety 
of  structures,  in  which  an  area,  of  greater  or  less 
extent,  is  shut  in.  This  title  embraces  those  which 
cap  the  hill-tops  and  are  usually  regarded  as  "forts" 
or  military  defenses.  These  are  built  of  stone  or  earth 
and  in  some  rare  instances  of  both.  The  hill-top  de 
fenses  are  not  relatively  numerous  but  exhibit  in  their 
construction  great  engineering  sagacity  and  skill  and 
almost  inconceivable  labor.  The  enclosures  on  the 
plains  or  river  bottoms  are  almost  exclusively  of 
earthen  material  and  are  either  walled  towns  or 
structures  for  refuge  and  safety;  possibly  some  of 
them  were  religious  temples.  They  are  of  all  dimen 
sions  and  forms,  many  of  them  presenting  combina 
tions  of  circles,  and  squares  and  geometrical  figures 
of  every  variety.  They  enclose  from  a  fraction  of 
an  acre  to  hundreds  of  acres.  They  are  literally 
"wonders"  and  more  and  more  excite  the  curiosity  of 
the  lay  spectator  and  the  awe  and  admiration  of  the 
archaeological  student. 

We  will  look  first  at  the  "stone  forts,"  which 
though  comparatively  few  in  number  are  of  intense 
interest,  owing  to  the  shrewdness  displayed  in  their 
location  and  the  military  instinct  and  engineering 
architecture  evinced  in  their  construction. 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          21 

SPRUCE  HILL  FORT. 

The  chief  of  these  upland  bulwarks,  indeed  the 
largest  stone  edifice  of  the  Mound  Builders  in  this 
country,  was  erected  on  Spruce  Hill,  in  the  south 
ern  part  of  l\oss  county.  This  work  occupies  the 
level  summit  of  a  hill  some  four  hundred  feet 
in  height ;  the  elevation  is  a,  long  triangular  shaped 
spur,  terminating  a  range  of  hills  with  which  it  is 
connected  by  a  narrow  neck  or  isthmus,  the  latter 
affording  the  really  only  accessible  approach  to  the 
"fort,"  for  the  hillsides  at  all  other  points  are  re 
markably  steep  and  in  places  practically  perpendicu 
lar.  The  summit  commands  a  wide  outlook  over  the 
surrounding  country.  Within  a  radius  of  two  or 
three  miles  on  the  plain  beneath,  to  the  east,  north 
and  west,  were  groups  of  aboriginal  works,  includ 
ing  isolated  mounds  and  extensive  enclosures.  It- 
was  the  midst  of  a  mound-building  neighborhood; 
the  site  of  Chillicothe,  a  great  aboriginal  center,  was 
some  eleven  miles  distant  to  the  northeast.  Xo  place 
more  advantageous  for  the  purposes  of  defense  or 
observation  could  have  been  chosen.  The  barrier  con 
sisted  of  a.  wall  composed  entirely  of  stone,  mostly 
fragments  of  sandstone  from  the  hill  ledge  and  cob 
blestones,  found  in  abundance  on  the  summit.  No 
earth  was  used  in  the  wall,  the  line  of  which  was 
carried  around  the  hill  a  little  below  the  brow.  This 
barricade,  once  so  complete  and  impregnable,  is  now 
sadly  depleted  and  displaced  ;  the  victim  of  the  wear 
and  tear  of  hoary  time,  the  upheaval  of  the  elements, 


22  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

and  the  spoliation  by  thrifty  farmers,  who  repair  their 
fences  with  the  "inestimable  stones,  unvalued  jewels, 
all  scattered"  the  summit  and  hillside  about;  most 
ruthless  enemy  of  all  to  lay  siege  to  the  battlements 
were  the  tall  primitive  trees  which  sprang  up  beneath 
and  around  the  curious,  loose  masonry,  thrusting  and 
twisting  their  roots  among  the  stones  and  with 
irresistible  strength  lifting  and  scattering  them 
apart;  in  many  instances  firmly  imbedding  them  in 
their  trunks ;  a  royal  battle,  an  irrepressible  conflict, 
this  has  been  between  the  stolid  stones  and  the  grow 
ing  giants  of  the  forest;  for  untold  cycles,  possibly 
for  more  than  a  millennium,  this  contest  has  been 
waged,  and  many  a  monarch  of  the  woods  worn  and 
bent  with  the  life  of  centuries  has  at  last  fallen  in 
decay  amid  the  crude  and  crumbling  masonry,  thus 
testifying  to  the  vast  period  that  this  fort  has  stood, 
grim  guardian  of  its  charge.  At  the  present  time 
the  stone  structure,  "trembling  all  precipitate  down 
dashed,"  merely  suggests  its  pristine  regularity  and 
form.  The  appearance  of  the  ruins  demonstrates 
that  the  line  had  an  average  base  width  of  eight  or  ten 
feet  and  a  height  of  six  or  eight,  the  stones  being  piled 
one  upon  the  other  with  no  other  means  than  their 
own  weight  to  hold  them  in  place.  The  width  and 
height  of  the  wall  originally  varied,  as  the  ruins  in 
dicate,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  summit 
contour  and  the  naturally  weak  or  strong  defense 
features  of  the  line  followed.  At  the  places  where  the 
approach  was  most  easy  the  wall  was  broadest,  being 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          23 

at  points  thirty  feet  and  even  more  across  the  base. 
The  wall  is  entirely  wanting  at  one  point  where  the 
perpendicular  rock  cliff  rendered  protection  unneces- 


Spruce  Hill  Fort. 

sary.  Where  the  defense  crosses  the  isthmus,  some 
seven  hundred  feet  wide,  the  wall  was  heaviest  and 
here  was  the  main  entrance,  with  three  gateways 
opening  upon  the  terrace  extending  beyond.  This 


24  Masterpieces  of  tJie  Mound  Builders. 

gateway  consisted  of  three  openings  in  the  wall,  the 
intercepting  segments  of  which,  in  each  case,  curving 
inwards,  formed  a  horseshoe,  whose  inward  curves 
were  fort}r  or  fifty  feet  in  length,  leaving  narrow  pas 
sages,  no  wider  than  eight  feet,  between.  At  these 
gateways,  the  amount  of  stones  is  more  than  four 
times  the  quantity  at  other  points  of  the  Avail,  and 
constituted  broad,  mound-shaped  heaps.  Between 
these  heaps,  through  the  narrow  defile,  the  enemy 
would  have  to  pass  in  attempting  an  entrance.  On 
the  east  wall  apparently  two  other  single  gateways 
originally  existed,  as  indicated  by  the  curved  lines, 
but  these  were  subsequently  closed  up.  At  the  north 
ern  apex  of  the  fort  another  gateway  existed,  pro 
tected  as  the  others  by  inward  carrying  walls.  Ex 
cepting  the  isthmus,  this  was  perhaps  the  most  vul 
nerable  point  of  the  hill-top  —  as  the  sides  sloped 
down  into  the  valley,  affording  steep  but  possible 
ascent.  Here  the  walls  were  unusually  high  and 
strong.  The  stone  heaps  at  the  great  gateway  give 
proof  of  having  been  subjected  to  intense  heat,  a 
feature  also  discernible  at  certain  other  points  in 
the  Avail.  Within  the  enclosure  were  found  tAvo  stone 
mounds,  located  near  points  of  the  breastAvorks 
which  commanded  the  fartherest  extent  of  Anew. 
These  mounds  were  burned  throughout,  suggesting 
that  great  fires  may  have  been  maintained  thereon, 
perhaps  for  alarm  signals,  perhaps  for  religious  cere 
monies,  perhaps  for  sacrificial  rites. 

There  Avere  seAreral  depressions  in  the  enclosed 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


25 


space,  one  covering  two  acres,  which  could  afford  con 
stant  supply  of  water.  There  was  no  moat  or  ditch 
at  any  point,  either  exterior  or  interior  to  the  wall. 
The  wall,  continuous  save  at  the  interruptions  men 
tioned  above,  measures  two  and  a  quarter  miles  in 
length  and  encloses  an  area  of  over  one  hundred  and 


The  "Pond"  in  Spruce  Hill  Fort. 

forty  acres.  The  magnitude  of  this  hill-top  stone  en 
closure  exceeds  any  similar  construction  attributed  to 
the  Mound  Builder.  It  evinces  tremendous  labor  and 
unusual  ingenuity  of  arrangement.  The  wonder  at 
this  stupendous  labor  grows  when  it  is  considered 
that  it  must  have  been  erected  without  the  aid  of 


26  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

beasts  of  burden  or  mechanical  contrivances.  It  was 
literally  built  by  hand  labor  by  "piece  work."  Such  a 
fortress,  so  situated,  must  have  been,  to  a  primitive 
people,  impervious  to  the  storm  of  savage  warfare.  It 
knew  no  surrender  save  to  a  vandal  demolition  of  a 
modern,  ruthless  civilization;  "but  man  would  mar 
them  with  an  impious  hand."  This  effacement  is  of 
comparatively  a  recent  date.  As  we  learn  from  the  in 
vestigators  who  first  left  descriptions,  the  result  of 
surveys  in  the  first  third  of  the  last  century,  the  walls 
were  then  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation  and  easily  fol 
lowed  in  outline  and  reconstructed  in  plan.  Now  ob 
literation  almost  reigns  supreme.  Some  ten  years  ago, 
the  writer  with  a  party  of  experts,  personally  in 
spected  the  remaining  ruins  and  from  them,  with 
slight  play  of  the  imagination,  could  rebuild  the  crude 
fortress.  Another  inspection  during  the  preparation 
of  this  monograph,  gave  evidence  of  the  final  touches 
of  a  destructive  hand.  The  line  of  the  walls  presented 
little  more  than  dismantled,  scattered,  brush-covered 
heaps  of  grass-grown  stones;  the  great  gateway  in 
diminished  height  and  demolished  shape  was  still 
there,  as  if  reluctant  to  yield  its  post,  grimly  strug 
gling  to  forbid  entrance  to  the  spacious  field  of  grow 
ing  corn  that  filled  the  enclosure;  the  little  pond, 
still  holding  water,  had  shrunk  to  a  fraction  of  its 
former  size;  from  its  depths  the  gutteral  croak  of  a 
bull  frog  seemed  to  mockingly  sound  the  death  knell 
to  even  the  memories  of  the  greatness  and  glory  of 
Spruce  Hill  Fort.  Surely  in  this  desolation  was  there 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  27 

theme   for    some   poet,    for    an    apostrophe   such    as 
Byron's  on  the  passing  of  the  Eternal  City : 

"Come  and  see  the  cypress,  hear  the  owl, 
And  plod  your  way   o'er  broken   thrones  and  temples, 
A  world    is  at  our  feet  as  fragile  as  our  clay." 


Spruce  Hill  and  Paint  Creek  Valley. 

But  there  is  one  feature  left  intact.  The  insati 
able  tiller  of  the  soil  may  tear  down  prehistoric  walls 
to  "mend  his  fences,"  and  plow  leyel  the  mounds 
erected  on  the  plain,  that  he  may  plant  a  few  more 
stalks  of  corn,  but  his  greed  has  thus  far  invented  no 
method  of  devastating  the  landscape.  Nature-loving 
Thorean  mourned  that  the  axe  was  slowly  destroying 


28          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

his  forest.  "Thank  God,"  he  exclaimed,  "they  can 
not  cut  down  the  clouds."  Iconoclastic  agriculture 
has  kindly  left  the  scene  which  rewards  the  ascent  of 
Spruce  Hill  —  a  captivating  view  such  as  seldom 

"Hills    and    valleys,    dales    and    fields, 
Woods  or   stcepy  mountain  yiel    s." 

Tour  outlook  sweeps  the  Paint  Creek  valley  for 
miles  on  either  side;  the  peacefuly  flowing  stream 
winds  its  way  through  fields  glowing  in  the  varied 
colors  of  the  summer's  ripening  grain,  all  framed 
by  the  encircling,  gentle-sloping,  forest-clad  hills. 
Were  this  scene  in  Bonnie  Scotland,  travelers  would 
cross  the  sea  to  extol  its  surpassing  beauty. 


Fort  Hill  —  Highland  County. 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  29 

HIGHLAND  FORT  HILL. 

Much  smaller  though  in  many  respects  more  strik 
ing  than  the  Spruce  Hill  fort  is  the  fortification  in 
Brush  Creek  township,  Highland  county,  two  and  a 


Fort  Hill  (Highland  Co.)  — South  Entrance  from  Outside. 

half  miles  northwest  of  Sinking  Springs.  It  is  the 
best  preserved  of  the  stone  defensive  works  of  the 
Ohio  Mound  Builders.  It  was  first  described  by 
Prof.  John  Locke,  of  Cincinnati,  in  the  Ohio  Geolog 
ical  Report  for  1838.  Squier  and  Davis  made  a  thor- 


30 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


ough  examination  of  it  in  1846,  publishing  the  result 
in  their  work  on  the  "Ancient  Monuments."  Many 
surveys  have  been  made  since  that  time,  notably  one 
by  Henry  A.  Shepherd,  who  gives  an  excellent  de 
scription  in  his  "Ohio  Antiquities." 

Fort  Hill,  entirely  detached  by  Brush  creek  and 


Fort  Hill  (Highland  Co.) — South  Entrance  of  Fort  from  Outside. 

deep  ravines  from  any  other  elevation,  rises  abruptly 
about  five  hundred  feet  above  the  river  bottom.  The 
sides  for  the  most  part  present  a  succession  of  minor 
cliffs,  shale  banks,  wash-outs  and  jutting  rocks;  in 
many  places  the  precipitous  sides  shoot  up  in  perpen 
dicular  palisades.  Only  at  two  points  can  the  summit 
be  reached  and  then  by  no  easy  effort  as  the  writer 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


31 


can  testify  from  personal  experience.  Encircling  the 
top  of  the  hill,  which  presents  a  level  area  of  some 
fifty  acres,  is  an  embankment  of  earth  and  stones, 
mostly  the  latter,  which  were  first  piled  up,  the  earth 
then  being  used  as  a  filler,  a  sort  of  road  or  walk  cov- 


Fort   Hill    (Highland   Co.) —Embankment,   Showing  General 
Terminus   Running  in   from   one   of   the    Openings. 

ering  the  top.  The  stone  was  found  on  the  spot  in  the 
weathered  fragments  of  the  sandstone  ledge  which 
crowns  the  hill.  The  wall,  which  mainly  follows  the 
brow  of  the  hill,  has -an  average  base  of  about  thirty- 
five  feet ;  its  height  varies  from  six  to  ten  feet,  though 


32  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

at  some  points  it  reaches  a  height  of  fifteen  feet.  In 
terior  to  the  wall  is  a  trench  or  ditch,  some  fifty  feet 
in  width.  It  was  easily  made  by  the  displacement  of 
the  material  for  the  wall.  The  length  of  this  wall  is 
between  eight  and  nine  thousand  feet,  or  over  a  mile 
and  a  half.  It  has  been  estimated  that  it  contains 
seventy-five  thousand  cubic  yards  of  material.  By 
glancing  at  the  diagram  it  will  be  seen  the  wall-line, 
conforming  to  the  shape  of  the  hill  summit,  consists 
of  four  unequal  sides,  curved  imvards  and  meeting  in 
four  acute  points,  "salient  angles,"  at  which  there 
are  peculiar  open  bastions,  the  ends  of  the  walls  run 
ning  outward  a  little  so  as  to  protect  the  entrance 
space.  The  whole  fort  in  its  outline  forms  the  figure 
of  a  "leg  and  foot,  with  slender  ankle  and  sharp  heel, 
the  two  corners  of  the  shin  and  calf  and  the  heel  and 
the  toe  form  the  four  bastions."  The  gateway  openings 
are  thirty-three  in  number  and  are  spaces  ten  to  fif 
teen  feet  in  width,  arranged  without  apparent  order 
or  regularity  except  that  the  same  number  is  found 
on  each  side.  The  purpose  of  so  many  openings  is 
inexplicable.  They  surely  were  not  needed  for  in 
gress  and  egress,  indeed  some  of  them,  especially  the 
one  at  the  northern  extremity,  the  toe,  occur  upon  the 
very  steepest  points  of  the  hill,  where  the  approach 
or  ascent  is  almost  impossible.  This  northern  tip  of 
the  hill  presents  a  bold,  bluff  ledge,  some  two  hun 
dred  feet  wide  and  rising  twenty  feet  above  the  en 
circling  wall.  It  is  altogether  the  most  prominent 
point  of  the  hill  and  commands,  like  a  sentinel  tower, 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          33 


m* v 

jS^yjteJrh'  •••'  >       n  :!t'  < ' 

f^M(-:/?-:'O  wi|p^ 


Highland    (Co.)    Fort  Hill. 


34 


Masterpieces  of  tlic  Mound  Builders. 


a  wide  extent  of  country.  Here  the  early  explorers 
report  were  strong  evidences  of  the  action  of  fire  on 
the  rocks.  Doubtless  it  was  the  beacon  station,  the 
flaming  lights  of  which  could  be  seen  for  miles  in  all 
directions.  There  were  within  this  enclosure  three 


Fort   Hill    (Highland   Co.) — Embankment  and   Ditch,   from   Inside 
Southeast   Section  of  Fort. 

depressions  or  ponds,  the  largest  of  which  had  a  well 
defined  retaining  embankment;  when  full  the  water 
must  have  covered  an  acre.  This  would  indicate  that 
this  fortification  was  capable  of  sustaining  a  large 
defensive  force  for  a  long  period  of  time.  Certainly 
the  situation  and  construction  made  it  difficult  to 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  35 

assault  and  well  nigh  impossible  to  capture.  Its  site 
could  not  have  been  better  chosen,  yet  this  hill  was 
not,  apparently,  surrounded  by  any  populous  or 
numerous  settlements  of  the  Mound  Builders,  judg 
ing  from  the  fact  that  excepting  two  or  three  iso 
lated  mounds,  there  is  no  remaining  evidence  of 
these  people  nearer  than  Serpent  Mound,  the  most 
mysterious  product  of  its  creators,  which  was  some 
ten  miles  distant.  Such  are  the  natural  and  arti 
ficial  features  of  Fort  II ill.  The  peculiar  method  of 
its  construction  and  the  inaccessibility  of  its  location 
have  enabled  this  fort  to  withstand  the  siege  of  time 
and  human  demolition  better  than  the  enclosure  of 
Spruce  Hill  or  any  similar  work. 

It  was  one  summer  morning,  just  as  Phoebus  was 
starting  on  his  daily  round,  that  the  writer  and  a 
companion,  slowly  ascended  the  steep  and  irregular 
path  that  leads  to  the  southeast  corner  of  the  sum 
mit.  Well  rewarded  were  we  for  our  perspiring  pains. 
A  magnificent  stretch  of  golden  field  and  green  for 
est,  sinuous  stream  and  undulating  plain,  responded 
to  our  gaze.  When  could  such  a  landscape  tire  the 
view?  The  hill,  the  scene,  in  the  splendid  glow  of 
the  risen  sun  brought  to  our  memory  its  counterpart, 
the  Wartburg  hill,  in  the  Thuringian  forest,  a  hill 
similar  in  height  and  form  but  crowned  by  a  ducal 
castle  and  medieval  towers.  Nature  had  given  almost 
as  picturesque  a  setting  to  Fort  Hill,  but  here  the 
crowning  battlements  were  of  a  different  age  and  far 
dissimilar  architecture.  We  mounted  the  wall  and 


36 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


pushing  through  the  obstructing  underbrush,  roots, 
decayed  trunks  and  branches  of  fallen  trees,  we  pa 
tiently  picked  our  way  along  the  top  of  the  wall  for  the 
entire  circuit,  the  earthen  filling  of  the  embankment 
and  the  time  accumulating  forest-debris  forming  a 
substantial  foot  path. 

This  crude  but  decay-defying  parapet  was  the  cun- 


Fort  Hill   (Highland  Co.)— Showing  Wall  and  Ditch 

ning  work  of  the  primitive  savage,  the  ferocious  war 
rior  of  a  stone  age;  here  in  time  of  war  he  resorted 
for  refuge  and  to  light  his  fires  to  warn  his  people 
in  the  valley  that  the  stealthy  and  relentless  enemy 
was  on  the  war  path. 

That  those  brave  days  were  long,  long  ago,  is 
proven  by  the  scattered  trunks  and  limbs  of  the 
fallen  arboreal  heroes  and  the  still  standing  ven 
erable  giants  of  the  forest.  Every  evidence  of  great 


Masterpiece*  of  the  Mound  Builder*. 


37 


antiquity  is  here  presented.  Hundreds  of  rears 
these  mamiiioth-trunked,  lofty-limbed,  old  fellows 
had  groAvn  and  wrestled  with  the  winds  and  storms 
that  beat  about  this  fort.  Some  of  them  in  hoary 


Fort   Hill    (Highland   Co.) — Embankment  from   Outside,    Showing 
Steepness   of  Ascent. 

age  were  to  go  down  at  last  in  the  unequal  strug 
gle  against  the  elements.  Locke,  Squier  and  Davis, 
Shepherd  and  subsequent  experts  designate1  chest 
nut  and  poplar  and  other  trees  still  standing  Avith 
the  age,  so  they  claim,  of  six  hundred  years  and 


38 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


more.  And  these  surviving  witnesses  stood  over 
and  grew  from  the  decomposed  remains,  half  hidden 
by  the  accumulating  soil  of  predecessors  of  similar 
size  and  perhaps  equal  longevity.  These  trees,  liv 
ing  and  dead,  surely  turn  back  the  hands  on  the  dial 


Fort  Hill   (Highland  Co.) — Embankment  from  Outside,  Southwest 
Section  of  Fort. 

of  time  and  point  to  a  most  remote  period  before  the 
stone  heaps  were  even  abandoned  and  how  long  had 
they  stood  before  the  forest  took  possession  is  beyond 
human  ken.  AVhat  would  one  give  for  the  story  of 
this  primitive  fortress,  its  patient  and  painstaking 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Kuildcrs. 


39 


builders,  their  life  within  its  precincts,  their  feats  of 
daring  and  suffering,  the  long  starving  sieges,  their 
brave  and  deatli  dealing  sorties,  the  storm  and  stress 
of  relentless  conflict,  when  to  the  arrow  and  missels 
of  the  boldly  approaching  foe  they  returned  thrusts 


Fort  Hill   (Highland  Co.)  —Wall  and  Ditch. 

of  flint  spears  and  hurlings  of  crushing  bowlders. 
Could  they  have  been  recorded  and  preserved,  may 
not  the  annals  of  these  people  have  left  us  topics 
for  epics  as  thrilling  and  dramatic  as  those  of  the 
Iliad  and  the  Aeneid.  But  their  heritage  to  us  is 
oblivion.  The  only  response  to  our  earnest  query 


40          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

for  their  past  was  the  gentle  flutter  of  the  leaves  as 
they  met  the  morning  breeze  — 

"Only  this  and  nothing  more." 
" STONE  FORT"  AT  QLENFORD. 

A  "fortification,"  known  as  the  Glenford  Stone 
Fort,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  important 


Fort  Hill   (Highland  Co.)— Wall  on   Southwest   Side  of  Fort. 
Tree  Stump  Estimated  about  400  Years  Old. 

hill-top  enclosures,  because  of  its  admirable  location 
and  the  fact  that  its  remains  are  still  sufficient  for  its 
form  to  be  easily  traced  and  its  construction  to  be  un- 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  41 

derstood.  The  fort  receives  its  Glenford  designation 
from  the  little  station  of  that  name,  at  which  the  tour 
ist  alights  in  a  journey  of  investigation.  The  geogra 
phy  of  this  hill  and  the  situation  of  the  fort  are  both 
nearly  reproductions  on  a  smaller  scale  of  Spruce 
hill  and  its  fort.  The  Glenford  hill,  crowded  by  the 
fort,  is  located  in  the  northern  part  of  Perry  county, 
and  is  the  northwestern  terminus  of  a  range  of  up 
land  that  juts  into  a  beautiful  valley  extending 
perhaps  two  miles  respectively  east  and  west.  This 
peninsula  projection  is  isolated  from  the  connecting 
high  land,  except  for  a  narrow  ridge  which  gently 
declines  a  short  distance  towards  the  southeast,  then 
rises  to  the  general  level.  The  jutting  land  point  is 
elevated  about  three  hundred  feet  above  the  Jona 
than  creek  that  skirts  the  western  slope.  The  hill 
summit,  practically  level,  is  terminated  in  nearly 
every  direction  by  a  vertical  ledge  of  sandstone  from 
six  to  ten  feet  in  thickness,  the  outcrop  of  the  cap- 
rock.  This  ledge  on  the  northwestern  hill  side,  in 
many  places,  forms  a  solid  natural  perpendicular 
wall,  formidable  and  unscalable.  Indeed  the  hill  is 
precipitous  in  its  rise  at  all  points,  save  at  the  neck 
and  for  a  few  hundred  feel  on  the  eastern  side  where 
the  bluff  is  absent  and  the  hillside,  part  way  down, 
becomes  a  gentle  slope.  The  selection  of  such  a  site 
again  demonstrates  the  acute  cunning  of  the  Mound 
Builders.  No  locality  could  better  answer  his  pur 
pose.  A  hill  commanding  the  valley;  a  level  space 
for  enclosure;  a  defense  partly  provided  by  nature 


42          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

and  a  quarry  readily  at  hand  for  the  masonry  of  his 
wall.  Considering  what  must  have  been  his  mode  of 
warfare,  here  could  be  erected  a  citadel  that  would 
defy  attack.  The  wall  of  the  fort,  formed  solely  of 
the  sandstone  fragments  found  on  the  spot,  follows 
closely  around  the  summit  margin  except  where  the 


Jonathan  Creek  Valley  Looking  West  from  Glenford  Fort. 

protruding  ledge  stratum  required  no  artificial  de 
fense  and  where  the  hillside  sloped,  in  which  latter 
case  the  wall  was  continued  below  the  summit,  appar 
ently  an  injudicious  arrangement,  though  at  such 
places  the  wall  must  have  been  made  unusually  de 
fensive  in  size  and  form.  The  line  of  this  wall,  as 
evidenced  by  the  remaining  scattered  stones,  can  be 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          43 

traced  intact  along  its  entire  length,  though  so  many 
of  the  stones  have  been  hauled  away  it  is  difficult  to 
determine  the  original  dimensions  and  shape.  The 
total  length  was  6,610  feet,  something  over  a  mile  and 
a  quarter,  and  it  is  safe  to  conjecture  that  while  hav- 


Glenford    Fort  —  West    Wall. 

ing  a  varying  size,  as  the  sections  of  the  summit  to 
be  protected  required,  it  must  have  had  an  average 
of  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  base  and  a  general  height  of 
six  or  eight.  At  the  southeast  corner  was  the  chief 
gateway  opening  upon  the  isthmus  connecting  with 


44 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


the  extending  hill  range.  Here  the  wall  was  re 
entrant  along  the  sides  and  greatly  strengthened,  as 
at  Spruce  Hill.  We  have  said  this  was  the  main  gate 
way,  indeed  it  may  have  been  the  only  one,  as  there 
is  now  no  positive  evidence  of  any  other.  There  was 


Glcnford   Fort  — East  Wall. 

no  moat  adjoining  the  wall.  The  area  enclosed  was 
about  twenty-six  acres  and  is  clear  of  all  stones,  pre 
sumably  all  having  been  gathered  up  to  form  the 
walls  —  except  those  used  to  construct  a  large  stone 
mound,  located  as  indicated  in  the  diagram.  This 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          45 

mound  was  conical  shaped,  one  hundred  feet  in  diam 
eter  and  within  the  memory  of  persons  now  living 
was  some  twenty  feet  high.  It  has  been  greatly  dis 
turbed  by  explorers.  The  purpose  of  this  mound  can 
only  be  guessed.  Possibly  it  was  the  look-out  or  sig 
nal  station.  A  smaller  stone  heap  formerly  existed  in 
another  part  of  the  fort.  On  several  of  the  hills 
flanking  the  Jonathan  creek  valley  were  earthen 
mounds  the  fires  of  which  could  easily  have  been  seen 
from  this  fort.  Indeed  the  gentleman,  a  resident 
of  Glenford  village,  who  acted  as  our  guide  over  the 
fort,  informed  us  that  extending  across  the  country 
for  a  distance  of  some  twenty-five  miles  was  a  series 
of  hill-top  mounds,  so  placed  that  smoke  or  fire  sig 
nals  could  be  exchanged  between  them.  On  one  hill 
some  two  miles  west  of  the  fort  was  an  earthen  wall 
enclosure  encircling  two  or  three  acres,  presumably 
a  defensive  work.  Evidently  in  Mound  Building  days 
there  were  great  "doings"  in  these  parts  and  as  our 
aforesaid  guide  remarked,  "those  old  fellows,  who 
ever  they  were,  knew  their  business." 

This  fort  was  early  made  famous  by  Caleb  At- 
water,  Ohio's  first  historian  and  archaeologist ;  he  was 
a  graduate  of  Williams  College;  a  lawyer,  member  of 
Ohio  Legislature  and  Indian  commissioner  under 
Andrew  Jackson.  lie  was  born  on  Christmas,  1778,  in 
North  Adams,  Massachusetts.  In  1815  he  made  Cir- 
cleville  (Ohio)  his  home  and  there  resided  till  his 
death  in  1807.  He  was  a  man  of  great  scholarly  at 
tainments,  a  prolific  and  forceful  writer.  He  made 


46  Masterpiece*  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

extensive  study  of  the  works  of  the  Ohio  Mound 
Builders.  He  visited  the  fort  —  afterwards  called 
Glenford  —  in  1818  and  carefully  describes  it  in  an 
elaborate  report  he  made  to  the  American  Anti 
quarian  Society  of  Worcester,  Mass.  This  report  was 
published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Society  for  1820. 
It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  recall  what  such 
an  authority  said  at  so  early  date  concerning  this  fort. 
Mr.  At  water  writes: 

"This  large  stone  work  contains  within  its  walls  forty  acres  and 
upwards.  The  walls,  as  they  are  called  in  popular  language,  con 
sist  of  rude  fragments  of  rocks,  without  any  marks  of  any  iron 
tool  upon  them.  These  stones  lie  in  the  utmost  disorder,  and  if 
laid  up  in  a  regular  wall,  would  make  one  seven  feet  or  seven 
feet  six  inches  in  height,  and  from  four  to  six  feet  in  thickness.  I 
do  not  believe  this  ever  to  have  been  a  military  work,  either  of 
defense  or  offense ;  but  if  a  military  work,  it  must  have  been  a 
temporary  camp.  From  the  circumstance  of  this  work's  containing 
two  stone  tumuli,  such  as  were  used  in  ancient  times,  as  altars  and 
as  monuments,  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  the  memory  of  some 
great  era,  or  important  event  in  the  history  of  those  who  raised 
them,  I  should  rather  suspect  this  to  have  been  a  sacred  enclosure 
or  'high  place,'  which  was  resorted  to  on  some  great  anniversary. 
It  is  on  high  ground,  and  destitute  of  water,  and  of  course,  could 
not  have  been  a  place  of  habitation  for  any  length  of  time.  It 
might  have  been  the  place,  where  some  solemn  feast  was  annually 
held  by  the  tribe  by  which  it  was  formed.  The  place  has  become 
a  forest,  and  the  soil  is  too  poor  to  have  ever  been  cultivated  by 
a  people  who  invariably  chose  to  dwell  on  a  fertile  spot.  These 
monuments  of  ancient  manners,  how  simple  and  yet  how  sublime. 
Their  authors  were  rude,  and  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  letters, 
yet  they  raised  monuments,  calculated  almost  for  endless  duration, 
and  speaking  a  language  as  expressive  as  the  most  studied  inscrip 
tions  of  latter  times  upon  brass  and  marble.  These  monuments, 


Masterpieces  of  tlic  Mound  Builders.          47 


Glenford    Stone   Fort  —  Perry   County.      Design   of   Col.   Whittlesey 
in   Smithsonian   Contributions  to   Knowledge.      (1850.) 


48 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


Glenford  Fort  from  Plan  Made  by  Caleb  Atwater  1818  and  Printed 
in   Proceedings   American   Antiquarian    Society   1820. 

their  stated  anniversaries  and  traditionary  accounts,  were  their 
means  of  perpetuating  the  recollection  of  important  transactions. 
Their  authors  are  gone ;  their  monuments  remain ;  but  the  events, 
which  they  were  intended  to  keep  in  the  memory,  are  lost  in  ob 
livion." 

So  appeared  this  fort  ninety  years  ago.  To-day 
Stone  Fort  is  a  most  attractive  place  to  visit,  tlie 
view  from  the  hill  top  presenting  the  little  valley 
and  encircling  miniature  mountains,  is  a  scene  to 
please  the  eye  and  stir  the  poetic  sentiment.  The 
old  fort  is  a  romantic  ruin,  for  mingled  with  its  scat 
tered  and  crumbling  crude  masonry  are  the  trees  of 
all  ages,  growths,  shapes  and  varieties;  maple,  oak, 
beech,  chestnut,  elm,  poplar,  ash  and  others  canopy 
with  overhanging  branches  the  moss  grown  stones 
of  the  walls  and  with  their  clutching  roots  push  the 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


49 


sandstone  blocks  asunder.  In  one  striking  instance 
a  sturdy  century-old  poplar  had  entwined  his  roots 
about  the  wall  and  pried  them  beneath  the  surface 
layer  of  the  bed  rock;  the  storm  came  and  overthrew 
the  tree ;  the  firm  grasp  of  its  underground  branches 
lifted  the  natural  stone  foundations  upright,  creating 


Glenford  Fort  —  West  Wall. 

a  perpendicular  wall  some  ten  feet  square,  level  as  a 
marble  floor  and  encased  in  a  lace  net  work  of  roots 
and  tendrils,  as  the  leaden  filigree  interlocks  the 
glass  figures  of  cathedral  window : 

"Who  can   impress  the  forest,  bid  the  tree  unfix  his  earth-bound 

root?" 
4 


50 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


Archaeological  Map  of  Ohio.— Showing  Chief  Mounds  and  En 
closures  of  Prehistoric  People.  From  the  reports  of  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution  by  Cyrus  Thomas,  in  1891. 


Masterpieces  of  tlie  Mound  Builders.  51 

At  Glenford  Fort  the  pranks  of  nature  were 
scarcely  less  interesting  than  the  proofs  of  the  prow 
ess  of  primitive  man. 

MIAMI  FORT. 

BY  glancing  at  the  archaeological  map  of  Ohio,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  southwest  portion  of  the  state, 
especially  the  valleys  of  the  Great  and  Little  Miamis, 


Miami  Fort. 

was  the  region  most  crowded  with  the  habitations 
and  monuments  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

Within  the  present  limits  of  Hamilton  county, 
between  four  and  five  hundred  mounds  and  some 
fifteen  important  enclosures  were  noted  by  the  early 
travelers  and  settlers.  The  most  famous  and  notice 
able  of  the  latter  is  the  one  on  the  "Fort  Hill  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Miami."  It  has  been  eenerallv 


52          Masterpieces  of  tJic  Mound  Builder*. 

designated  as  the  "Miami  Fort,"  but  this  Miami  fort 
must  not  be  confounded  with  the  historic  Fort  Miami, 
the  first  fortification  in  Ohio,  built  first  by  the 
French  in  1080  and  rebuilt  by  the  British  in  1785, 
at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee. 

The  "Miami  Fort"  is  small  in  size  but  important 


Walls  and  Gateway  —  Miami  Fort. 

in  situation  and  suggestion.  It  was  first  brought 
into  notice  in  the  literature  concerning  the  Mound 
Builders  by  William  Henry  Harrison,  who  though 
a  Virginian  by  birth  became  an  Ohioan  by  adoption, 
marrying  a  daughter  of  John  Cleves  Symines  and 
settling  at  North  Bend,  where  his  remains  are  now 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          53 

buried.  General  Harrison  was  a  man  of  unusual 
literary  and  historical  acquirements,  and  had  he 
never  been  known  as  a  general  or  president  he 
would  have  won  distinction  as  a  scholar.  He  pro 
foundly  studied  the  Ohio  Mound  Builders  and  the 
Ohio  Indians  and  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  much 
valuable  investigations  and  information  on  those 
subjects.  He  carefully  surveyed  "Miami  Fort," 
giving  his  results  in  a  scholarly  address,  pub 
lished  (1839)  in  the  Transactions  of  the  His 
torical  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Ohio.  We  give 
his  plan  as  adopted  and  reproduced  by  Squier  and 
Davis.  The  site  of  this  fort  is  strikingly  analogous 
to  the  hill  forts  heretofore  described.  The  Great 
Miami,  flowing  southwest,  debouches  into  the  Ohio 
at  a  sharp  angle.  An  upland  elevation,  some  two 
hundred  feet  or  more  in  height,  thrusts  its  nose 
prominently  out  into  this  land  angle,  separating  the 
tAvo  rivers.  On  the  peak  of  this  elevation  is  the  for 
tification.  It  is  very  nearly  a  parallelogram  in 
shape,  conforming  to  the  summit  contour  of  the 
hill.  The  walls  are  unusually  massive  and  strong, 
the  mean  cross-section  being  considerably  in  excess 
of  that  of  any  other  enclosure  in  the  state.  These 
ramparts,  in  places  sadly  depleted,  are  in  large  meas 
ure  well  preserved  and  though 

Here  giant  weeds  a  passage  scare  allow 

and  sections  of  the  protective  works  have  been 

Swept  into  wrecks   anon  by  Time's   ungentle  tide ; 


54 


Masterpieces  of  tJic  Mound  Jtiiildcrs. 


the  experienced  explorer  may  easily  follow  the  lines 
of  defense,  which  are  from  thirty  to  fiftj7  feet  at  the 
base  with  a  height  of  ten  feet  or  more.  They  are 
built  of  earth  and  stone,  the  latter  being  plentifully 
used  to  give  strength  and  stability  to  the  earth  filling. 


Section  of  Wall  —  Miami  Fort. 

Three  or  four  gullies  have  worked  their  way  into  the 
fort,  but  the  gateways  or  artificial  openings  could  not 
have  been  more  than  two  or  three  in  number.  The 
declivities  on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  fort 
are  precipitious  and  in  the  olden  days  must  have 
been  almost  unascendable,  indeed  for  some  distance 


Masterpiece*  of  the  Mound  Rnlldcrs. 


55 


on  either  of  the  longer  sides,  so  perpendicular  are 
the  hillsides  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  detect  the 
line  dividing  the  hilltop*  from  the  base  of  the  wall. 
The  area  enclosed  is  only  about  twelve  acres.  It  was 
a  snug  little  fort.  Below  the  southwest  wall,  facing 
the  Ohio,  is  a  gentle  slope,  leading  to  the  summit  of 


Miami  Fort  —  From  Indiana  Geological  Report  for  1879. 

a  "nub''  or  circular  spur  of  the  hill,  upon  which  is 
a  conspicuous  mound,  some  fifty  feet  in  diameter  and 
originally,  probably,  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  height.  It 
has  been  much  plowed  down.  From  this  "observa 
tory"  mound  one  obtains  the  most  entrancing  view 
in  the  state  of  Ohio.  The  valley  of  the  Great  Miami 
is  at  your  feet  on  the  west;  just  across  the  gently 


56  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

flowing  stream  are  the  hilly  ranges  of  Indiana, 
through  which  courses  the  White  Water  River,  min 
gling  its  singularly  pure  blue  and  green  water  with 
the  muddy  yellow  of  the  Miami,  just  a  mile  or  two 
above  the  latter's  entrance  into  the  Ohio.  On  the 
south  at  your  feet  witli  majestic  swerve  sweeps  the 

"Ohio-peh-li !      Peek-han-ni !     The  pride 
Of  the  land  where  thy  waters,  O-pel-e-chen,  glide; 
#  *  * 

Through  thy  vales,  and  the  hills  in  the  distance  that  loom, 
Seen  far  through  the  azure,   or  lost  in  the  gloom, 
Have  long  been  the  homes  of  the  noble  and  brave, 
Whose   proud   halls   are   built   on   the   Indian's   grave." 

Stretching  along  the  south  banks  of  the  Ohio  are 
the  rolling  hills  of  "Old  Kentuck,"  the  sunny  land 
of  "Dixie."  The  rushing  waters  of  these  uniting  riv 
ers  bring  to  the  mind  a  flood  of  historic  memories, 
in  the  days  of  discovery  and  frontier  settlement. 
Down  this  Ohio  and  up  this  Miami  came  the  chival 
rous  and  grotesque  expedition  of  Celoron  from  Quebec 
with  his  Indians  in  feathers  and  war  paint  and  his 
French  soldiers  in  the  gay  trappings  of  a  medieval 
crusade.  At  the  mouth  of  La  Riviere  a  la  Roche,  as 
the  French  then  called  the  Great  Miami,  Celoron 
moored  his  little  navy  of  birch  bark  canoes  and  with 
courtly  and  dramatic  ceremonies  planted  his  last  lead 
plate,  proclaiming  that  these  rivers  and  all  their  tribu 
taries  belonged  to  his  majesty,  Louis,  King  of  France. 
That  was  August,  1749.  And  then  the  little  white 


Masterpieces  of  tJic  Mound  Builders.  57 

fleet  of  twenty  or  more  light  gondolas  pushed  up  the 
"a  la  Roche"  to  Pickawillany,  carrying  the  Bourbon 
banner  across  the  Buckeye  State. 

But  before  all  this,  centuries  and  centuries  before, 
this  beautiful  scene  of  hill,  vale  and  river  had  a  geo 
logic  record.  It  was  a  mid-summer  day,  that  Pro- 


Junction  of  Big  Miami  and  Ohio  River  —  From  Miami  Fort. 

fessor  G.  Frederick  Wright  and  the  writer,  stood  on 
the  summit  of  that  outlook  mound,  and  reveled  in  the 
riches  of  the  charming  landscape,  the  scene  being 
softened  to  an  artistic  atmosphere  by  the  hazy,  fleecy 
clouds  through  which  the  rays  of  the  August  sun 
were  tempered.  My  distinguished  companion  told 


58  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

the  story  of  the  creation  of  this  panorama;  how  it 
took  millions  of -years  to  mold  this  land  and  carve  out 
the  great  heights  and  depressions  and  then  how  the 
final  touches  were  put  to  the  picture  by  the  icy  fingers 
of  the  glacial  hand ;  how  the  great  frozen  avalanche 
came  down  the  trough  of  the  Ohio  and  meeting  an 
obstruction  near  this  point,  choked  the  channel  and 
formed  a  glacial  dam  high  enough  to  raise  the  level 
of  the  water  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  forming  the 
"Ohio  Lake."  The  glaciers  acted  as  great  freight  cars 
and  hauled  down  sand  and  gravel  and  covered  the 
hillsides  and  filled  the  valleys.  The  mouth  of  the 
Great  Miami  was  the  southwest  point  of  this  great  ice 
bed  in  Ohio.  That  was  decades  of  centuries  before 
the  Mound  Builders  climbed  the  steep  hill,  erected 
their  stronghold  and,  according  to  General  Harrison, 
made  their  last  stand  for  their  Ohio  land.  The  gen 
eral  claimed  to  have  discoATered  evidences  of  a  de 
fensive  line  from  the  base  of  the  hill  on  one  side  to 
the  Ohio  and  on  the  other  side  to  the  Miami  —  en 
closing  a  bottom  plain  of  three  hundred  acres.  This 
was  to  preclude  a  flank  attack  on  the  fort.  He  sur 
mises  the  Mound  Builders  may  have  been  the  Aztecs, 
and  says  if  they  were  really  the  Aztecs,  "the  direct 
course  of  their  journey  to  Mexico  and  the  facilities 
which  that  mode  of  retreat  would  afford,  seem  to 
point  out  the  descent  of  the  Ohio,  as  the  line  of  that 
retreat.  It  was  here  (Miami  Fort)  that  a  feeble  band 
was  collected  to  make  a  last  effort  for  the  country 


Masterpieces  of  tJic  Mound  Builders. 


59 


the 


of  their  birth,  the  ashes  of  their  ancestors  i 
altars  of  their  gods." 

Commanding  the  rivers  as  it  did,  Miami  Fort  was 
certainly  one  of  the  most  strategic  points  of  the 
Mound  Builders'  system  of  defenses.  Several  archae- 


Section  of  Wall  —  Miami  Fort. 

ological  authorities,  particularly  General  M.  C. 
Force,  whom  \ve  cite,  in  his  valuable  essay  on  the 
Ohio  Mound  Builders,  point  out  that  from  this  eleva 
tion  (Miami  Fort)  a  line  of  signals  could  be  put  in 
operation,  which  in  extent  would  cover  the  south 
western  portion  of  the  state : 


60          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

"Three  great  works  on  the  Great  Miami,  one  at  its  mouth,  one 
at  Colerain,  and  one  at  Hamilton,  with  subsidiary  defensive  works 
extending  six  miles  along  the  river  at  Hamilton ;  several  advanced 
works  to  north  and  west  of  Hamilton,  on  streams  flowing  into 
the  Great  Miami ;  and  other  similar  defenses  farther  up  the 
river  at  Dayton  and  Piqua,  all  put  in  communication  with  each 
other  by  signal  mounds  erected  at  conspicuous  points,  constitute 
together  a  connected  line  of  defenses  along  the  Miami  river;  Fort 
Ancient  on  the  Little  Miami  stands  as  a  citadel  in  the  rear  of  the 
center  of  this  line.  A  mound  at  Norwood,  back  of  Cincinnati, 
commands  a  view  through  a  depression  of  the  hills  at  Redbank 
eastwardly  to  a  mound  in  the  valley  of  the  Little  Miami;  north 
wardly  through  the  valley  of  the  Millcreck  and  the  depression  in 
the  land  thence  to  Hamilton,  with  the  works  at  Hamilton;  and 
by  a  series  of  mounds  (two  of  which  in  Cincinnati  and  its  sub 
urbs  have  been  removed)  westwardly  to  the  Fort  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  Miami.  So  a  series  of  signal  mounds  along  the  Scioto 
from  the  northern  boundary  of  Franklin  county  to  the  Ohio  river, 
a  distance  of  over  one  hundred  miles,  could  transmit  by  signals 
an  alarm  from  the  little  work  north  of  Worthington  through  the 
entire  length  of  the  valley  to  the  works  at  Portsmouth." 

Less  extensive  systems  of  stations  in  this  wireless 
telegraphy  have  been  clearly  established  in  other  sec 
tions  of  the  state,  such,  for  example,  the  one  men 
tioned  in  connection  with  the  Glenford  Fort,  One  of 
the  prominent  hills  in  Indiana  which  was  within  sig 
naling  range  of  Miami  Fort,  was  crowned  with 
a  prehistoric  fortification,  thus  establishing  interstate 
(?)  communications. 


Masterpieces  of  tJtc  Mound  Builders. 


61 


BUTLER  COUNTY  FORT. 

In  prehistoric  times,  no  less  than  later  in  the  pio 
neer  days,  the  Great  Miami  must  have  been  a  great 
Avater  way,  for  along  its  valley  plains  were  numerous 
sites  where  dwelt  the  Mound  Builders,  while  many 


View  of  Big  Miami  Valley  from  Fortified  Hill  —  Butler  County. 

of  the  hill-tops,  on  either  side,  Avere  capped  with 
walled  enclosures  or  various  shaped  single  mounds 
of  these  ingenious  and  mysterious  people.  After 
entering  the  river  on  his  northern  voyage  to  Picka- 
Avillany  and  the  portage  from  that  river  to  the  St. 
Marys,  Celoron  passed  beneath  the  war-like  embattle- 


62          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

merits  of  many  an  earthen  fortification.  These  dirt- 
built  "strongholds"  defended  the  hill  summits,  no 
less  securely  than  the  stone  turrets  guarded,  like  grim 
sentinels,  the  rocky  cliffs  of  the  romantic  Khine. 
Doubtless  these  simple,  crude  bulwarks  of  clay  on  the 
heights  of  the  Big  Miami  were  in  place  before  the 


View   of  Valley   from   Fortified   Hill  —  Butler   County. 

German  Barons  erected  their  towered  castles.  After 
paddling  past  four  or  five  of  these  ancient  fortresses, 
deserted  and  tenantless  then  as  now,  the  plucky  sail 
ors  of  the  little  French  fleet  might  have  sighted  the 
shadows  of  a  peculiarly  protected  muniment  which 
we  call  the  Butler  County  Fort,  because  located  in 
that  county,  three  miles  below  the  present  town  of 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Bulkier s.          63 

Hamilton,  and  some  thirty  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  Miami.  The  valley  at  the  point  in  question 
is  imposing  in  width.  The  hill,  the  summit  of  which 
the  fort  occupies,  is  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  per 
haps  half  a  mile  distant  from  its  present  channel,  and 
rises  to  an  elevation  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  a 
height  considerably  above  any  other  in  the  vicinity. 
The  section  of  the  state  now  comprised  in  the  county 
named  was  thickly  strewn  with  the  works  of  these 
ancient  people,  several  hundred  of  their  mounds  and 
enclosures  being  in  existence  when  the  early  trav 
elers  first  had  their  attention  called  to  them. 

This  fort  had  a  special  significance,  both  in  its 
well  chosen  location  and  the  peculiar  features  of  its 
design.  It  was  accurately  described  by  Mr.  Squier 
in  a  concise  pamphlet,  published  in  New  York  in 
1817.  He  made  a  careful  survey  of  the  works,  the 
plat  of  which  was  afterwards  used  in  the  extensive 
volume  of  Squier  and  Davis. 

This  fort  hill,  like  nearly  all  of  the  heights  simi 
larly  protected,  is  the  termination  of  an  upland  range 
that  extends  out  like  a  long  tongue  into  the  valley. 
It  is  surrounded  at  all  points,  except  the  narrow  neck 
towards  the  north,  by  deep  ravines,  presenting  steep 
and  almost  inaccessible  declivities.  The  slope  to 
wards  the  north  is  very  gradual  and  from  that  direc 
tion  the  hill  crown  is  easy  of  approach.  Skirting  the 
brow  of  the  hill  and  generally  conforming  to  its  rim, 
was  the  artificial  wall  of  earth  and  stone,  having  an 
average  heighth  of  five  feet  with  a  base  of  thirty-five. 


64 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


Those  were  the  dimensions  as  the  parapet  stood  when 
viewed  by  Mr.  Squier.  The  earth  composing  the  wall 
Avas  a  stiff  clay  having  for  the  most  part  been  taken 
up  from  the  hill  surface,  without  leaving  any  percep 
tible  excavation.  The  length  of  the  wall  embankments 
was  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  not  counting  the 


Largest  Portion  of  Wall  on  Fortified  Hill,  Three  Miles  south  of 
Hamilton,    Butler   County. 

gateway  defenses,  and  the  area  enclosed  was  some 
seventeen  acres.  The  hill  summit,  thus  enwalled,  rises 
gently  on  all  sides  from  the  rim  towards  the  center, 
forming  a  knoll  or  cam  el -hump  which  at  its  greatest 
altitude  is  some  twenty-five  feet  aboA^e  the  encircling 
Avails.  From  this  apex  one  may  overlook  not  only  the 


Masterpieces  of  tJtc  Mound  Builders.          65 

fort  side  but  the  entire  surrounding  country,  present 
ing  the  Great  Miami  valley  on  the  east  and  the  Valley 
or  Indian  Creek  on  the  west.  This  scene  is  an  encore 
of  the  miniature  mountainous  ones  we  have  beheld 
from  the  previously  described  for  tilled  hills.  We  are 
obliged  to  rely  mainly  upon  the  earlier  report  of  Mr. 
Squier  for  the  detailed  accounts  of  this  interesting 
fort,  for  it  is  now  sadly  ruined,  indeed  for  the  most 
part  practically  obliterated,  for  these  defenses,  which 
in  their  prime  were  impervious  to  the  attacks  of  a 
savage  foe,  armed  Avith  flint  pointed  spears  and  stone 
battle  axes,  have  fallen  an  easy  prey  to  the  invincible 
steel  of  the  plow  share.  On  our  visit  we  found  the 
fading  lines  of  the  earthen  walls  overgrown  with 
forest  trees  and  almost  obscured  by  impenetrable 
underbrush  and  tangle  wood.  Faint  outlines  remain 
of  the  famous  north  gateway  and  its  crescent  out 
post.  For  it  was  the  complicated  protection  to  the 
four  gateways  or  openings,  three  at  the  southern  ex 
tremity  and  one  at  the  north,  facing  the  land  neck, 
that  peculiarly  classifies  this  fortification.  The  ac 
companying  diagram  will  best  designate  their  posi 
tion  and  form.  Interior  to  the  openings  were  "cov 
ering"  walls  of  a  "most  singular  and  intricate  de 
scription,"  a  series  of  overlapping  labyrinth  ian 
breastworks,  so  fashioned  that  the  entering  enemy 
would  become  entrapped  between  them.  This  scheme 
at  the  north  gate  is  especially  elaborate,  while  ex 
terior  to  the  gateway  was  a  massive  crescent-shaped 
mound  extending  across  the  land  neck,  convexing  to- 


66 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


wards  the  plateau  that  afforded  the  approach  to  the 
fort.  This  gateway  plan  is  in  almost  exact  cor 
respondence  to  the  so-called  Tlascalan  gateways,  em- 

*«f        V. 


Butler    (County)    Fort  —  Three  Miles  below   Hamilton. 

ployed  in  the  stone  wall  defenses  of  the  province  of 
Tlascala,  Mexico,  and  described  by  Cortez  and  other 
early  Spanish  writers.  This  form  of  gateway,  with 
variations,  is  found  in  other  works  of  the  Mississippi 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  67 

and  Ohio  valley  Mound  Builders  and  leads  to  the 
inference  that  there  was  some  ethnical  relationship 
between  the  Ohio  Mound  Builders  and  the  ancient 
Aztecs  and  Toltecs.  Interior  to  the  northern  wall 


Interior  of  Fort,  Butler  County,  Three   Miles   South  of  Hamilton. 

Author  Standing'  in  Remains  of  One  of  the  Dug-holes." 

there  is  still  evidence  of  a  ditch,  while  at  various 
points  within  the  enclosure  there  were  "du£»-lioles," 
from  which  it  appeared  a  portion  of  the  material 


68          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

was  obtained  for  the  walls.  Some  of  these  pits  are 
yet  clearly  definable,  indeed  still  "hold  water/'  being 
doubtless  originally  nsed  as  reservoirs. 

Three  or  four  hundred  feet  north  of  the  fort  on 
the  level  isthmus  are  the  remains  of  a  conical  mound, 
thirty  feet  in  diameter  and  now  some  ten  feet  high, 
surmounted  by  several  trees  of  venerable  and  stately 
growth.  It  is  recorded  that  years  ago,  the  mound 
was  partially  excavated,  the  only  result  being  the 
discovery  of  a  quantity  of  stone  which  had  been  sub 
jected  to  the  action  of  fire. 

As  our  party  approached  the  mound  we  were 
greeted  by  a  couple  of  bareheaded,  barefooted  country 
boys  who  with  youthful  curiosity  and  energy  had  dug 
into  the  base  of  the  tumulus  and  exhumed  a  skeleton, 
the  bones  of  which  lay  heaped  before  the  uncovered 
grave.  The  skull  upon  exposure  had  parted  into  frag 
ments,  tho  teeth  falling  into  the  cranium  cavity.  It 
was  a  comico-serio  incident,  the  grewsomeness  of  it 
being  no  little  enhanced  by  the  moisture-sodden  at 
mosphere  that  hung  like  a  clammy  cloak  about  us 
beneath  the  heavy  threatening  sunless  clouds.  The 
settings  of  the  scene  were  cheerless,  but  the  boys  glee 
fully  poked  with  their  muddy  feet  the  disinterred 
human  relics,  clay-stained  and  decay-eaten; 

"In  nature's  happiest  mould  however  cast, 
To   this   complexion   tliou   must   come    at   last." 

"For  even   Imperious   Caesar  dead   and  turned  to  clay, 
Might   stop  a  hole  to  keep   the   wind  away." 


of  tJie  Mound  Builders. 


69 


Had  tin's  disjointed  frame  been  that  of  a  great  war 
chief,  "the  hero  of  a  hundred  battles,"  or  perchance 
a  "silver-tongued  orator"  rousing  with  his  eloquence 
his  fellows  to  deeds  of  valor,  in  whose  honor  his  sur- 


Mound  North  of  Butler  Fort. 

riving  tribesmen  had  erected  this  earthen  monument? 
There  could  be  no  answer  to  our  guesses,  but  there 
came  to  our  mind,  as  we  gazed  upon  the  bones  de 
nuded  of  their  earthy  covering,  the  poem  of  Bryant 
on  the  "Disinterred  Warrior. :" 


70          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

Gather  him  to  his  grave  again, 

And   solemnly   and    softly   lay. 
Beneath  the  verdure  of  the   plain, 

The    warrior's  scattered  bones  away. 
Pay  the   deep   reverence,   taught   of  old, 

The  homage  of  man's  heart  to  death; 
Nor  dare  to  trifle  with  the  mould 

Once   hallowed   by   the   Almighty's   breath. 

The    soul   hath   quickened   every   part  — 

That    remnant   of   a    martial   brow, 
Those   ribs   that   held   the  mighty  heart, 

That    strong    arm  —  strong    no    longer    no 
Spare   them,    each    mouldering   relic    spare, 

Of  God's  own  image;    let  them  rest, 
Till  not  a  trace   shall   speak  of  where 

The    awful    likeness  •  was    impressed. 

For  he  was   fresher   from  the  hand 

That  formed  of  earth  the  human   face, 
And   to   the   elements    did   stand 

In    nearer   kindred    than   our    race. 
In  many  a  flood  to  madness  tossed, 

In  many  a  storm  has  been  his  path  ; 
He  hid  him  not  from   heat  or   frost, 

But  met  them,  and   defied  their  wrath. 

Then  they  were  kind  —  the  forests  here, 

Rivers,    and    stiller    waters,    paid 
A   tribute   to   the   net    and    spear 

Of  the   red   ruler   of   the   shade. 
Fruits  on  the  woodland  branches  lay, 

Roots  in   the  shaded   soil  below; 
The  stars  looked  forth  to  teach  his  way; 

The   still   earth  warned  him  of  the  foe. 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

A   noble   race !    but    they   are  gone, 

With  their  old  forests  wide  and  deep, 
And  we  have  built  our  homes  upon 

Fields   where  their  generations  sleep. 
Their  fountains  slake  our  thirst  at  noon, 

Upon   their   fields   our   harvest   wave?, 
Our   lovers   woo   beneath    their   moon  — 

Then  let  us  spare,  at  least,  their  graves. 


71 


Sample    of   skeleton   found    in   Ohio    Mounds.     This   grave   opened 
in  Baum  Village  Site, 


FORT  ANCIENT. 


The  chief  masterpiece  of  the  Mound  Builders  is 
known  as  Fort  Ancient.  For  imposing  grandeur  in 
size,  ingenuity  in  design  and  perfection  in  construc 
tion  it  is  easily  the 
first  among  the  pre 
historic  fortifications 
and  is  regarded  as 
representing  the  high 
est  point  attained  in 
earthwork  structures 
by  this  lost  race. 
When  one  has  visited 
St.  Peter's  Cathedral 
he  has  witnessed  the 
sum  total  of  eccles 
iastical  architecture 
and  when  one  has 
stood  within  Fort 
Ancient  he  has  seen 
the  most  majestic  monument  erected  by  the  people 
who  were  its  constructors.  All  honor  to  the 
State  of  Ohio,  its  possessor,  and  the  Ohio  State 
ArchtTological  and  Historical  Society,  its  custodian, 
that  this  priceless  and  unique  work  is  today  in  excel 
lent  state  of  restoration  and  preservation.  An  ao 

(72) 


Entrance  to  Fort  from  West, 
Looking   East. 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  73 

count  of  this  work,  accompanied  by  a  correct  plan, 
which  we  herewith  reproduce,  appeared  in  the  "Port 
Folio,"  a  magazine  published  in  Philadelphia  for 
the  year  1809.  The  author  of  this  initial  treatise 
on  the  subject,  with  modesty  conspicuously  rare  in 
early  researchers,  omitted  his  name.  The  plan  and 
description  were  copied  by  Mr.  Atwater  in  his 
report  to  the  American  Antiquarian  Society  (1820) 
and  republished  in  his  "Western  Antiquities,''  printed 
in  Columbus  (Ohio),  1833.  It  was  also  briefly  de 
scribed  by  Dr.  Daniel  Drake,  in  a  chapter  on  an 
tiquities  in  his  "Pictures  of  Cincinnati,"  pub 
lished  in  1815.  The  fort  was  also  carefully  studied 
and  mapped  "from  a  faithful  survey"  by  Prof. 
John  Locke  of  Cincinnati,  the  map  and  descrip 
tion  being  published  by  him  in  1843  in  the  papers 
of  the  American  Association  of  Geologists  and 
Naturalists.  This  map,  which  we  also  herewith  re 
produce,  and  Locke's  description  were  incorporated 
in  the  work  on  the  "Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  Valley,"  by  Squier  and  Davis,  published  by 
the  United  States  government  as  the  first  volume  of 
The  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge, 
printed  in  1818.  Squier  and  Davis  supplemented 
Locke's  description  with  one  of  their  own.  These 
diagrams  and  descriptions  were  the  substantial  bases 
for  subsequent  students  and  surveyors.  Judge  L.  M. 
ITosea,  of  Cincinnati,  made  a  personal  study  of  the 
works  in  1871,  giving  his  conclusions  in  a  scholarly 
article  published  in  the  "Cincinnati  Quarterly  Jour- 


74          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

nal  of  Science"  for  October  of  that  year.  The  learned 
editor  of  the  American  Antiquarian  (Chicago),  Dr. 
Stephen  D.  Peet,  has  written  many  articles  upon 
this  inexhaustible  theme.  The  most  distinguished 
archaeologists  of  the  country  have  made  it  a  study. 
Professors  J.  W.  Powell,  Cyrus  Thomas,  Frederick 
W.  Putnam,  W.  H.  Holmes,  G.  Frederick  Wright, 
John  T.  Short,  M.  C.  Head,  Gerard  Fowke,  Gen 
eral  M.  F.  Force,  Colonel  Charles  Whittlesey,  Mr. 
Henry  A.  Shepherd  and  many  others  of  equal  or  less 
distinction  have  contributed  by  their  studies  and 
writings  to  the  literature  concerning  this  famous 
chef  d'aeuvre  of  the  ancients.  Models  of  it  have  been 
made  for  many  of  the  museums  of  Europe  and  famous 
savants  from  all  parts  of  the  world  have  journeyed  to 
America  to  verify  the  accounts  sent  broadcast  con 
cerning  it.  The  proverbial  Britisher  who  failed  to  find 
anything  worthy  of  notice  in  this  new  country  —  be 
cause  it  was  so  "deucedly  devoid  of  ruins,  dontcher 
know,"  should  have  had  his  attention  called  to  Fort 
Ancient,  His  longing  for  antiquity  would  have  been 
supplied.  He  should  have  asked  for  what  he  did  not 
see.  It  would  have  been  forthcoming. 

In  August,  1898,  the  annual  convention  of  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 
was  held  in  Columbus.  On  the  last  day  of  the  session 
a  special  train,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Ohio  State 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  carried  the 
delegates  of  the  Archaeological  and  Ethnological  Sec 
tion  of  the  Association  to  Fort  Ancient.  A  luncheon 


Masterpiece*  of  the  Mound  Builders.          75 


Plan  of  Fort  Ancient   Published  with  an  Explanation  in  the  Port 
folio    (Philadelphia)    for  June,   ISO!).     First  Illustration  of  Fort 
Ancient   Ever    Made.      Reproduced    from   the    Original. 


76  Masterpieces  of  tJic  Mound  Builders 

was  served  to  over  a  hundred  guests  gathered  about 
the  table  spread  within  the  great  gateway  of  the  Old 
Fort.  After  dinner  speeches  were  made  by  several 
of  the  most  distinguished  archaeologists  of  the  coun 
try.  All  paid  high  tribute  to  the  wonderful  works  of 
a  vanished  race  and  to  the  enterprise  of  the  Ohio 
Society  for  securing  and  preserving  this  greatest  of 
all  their  monuments.  In  the  fall  of  1902  the  Inter 
national  Congress  of  Americanists,  the  leading  stu 
dents  of  archaeology,  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  met 
in  New  York  City.  They  desired  to  see  Cahokia  Mound 
and  Fort  Ancient;  on  their  way  to  the  former  they 
spent  a  day  at  the  latter,  the  guest  of  The  Ohio  State 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society.  There  were 
in  the  party  the  official  national  representatives  of 
the  Archaeological  Departments  of  Canada,  Mexico, 
Argentine  Kepublic,  Costa  Uica,  Uruguay,  France, 
Germany,  England,  Sweden  and  Eussia.  The  visit 
ors  were  greatly  delighted  and  astonished  in  their 
examination  of  the  extensive  fortifications  of  the 
people  of  a  lost  empire.  Even  the  youthful  and  prac 
tical  United  States  could  produce  prehistoric  remains 
of  surpassing  magnitude  and  symmetrical  propor 
tions,  outdoing  similar  exhibits  in  the  older  countries. 
They  all  acknowledged  it  was  the  most  wonderful 
specimen  of  its  kind,  probably  in  the  world. 

The  latest  and  most  detailed  investigation  of  the 
fort  was  made  by  Professor  Warren  K.  Moore- 
head,  who  first  visited  it  in  1885  and  whose  subse 
quent  explorations  covered  in  the  aggregate  more 


Masterpiece^  of  the  Mound  Builders.  77 

than  forty-  three  weeks,  scattered  through  the  years 
1888,  1889,  1890  and  1891.  The  results  of  his  re 
searches  are  incorporated  in  his  two  interesting 
works  entitled,  respectively,  "Fort  Ancient''  and 
"Primitive  Man  in  Ohio."  He  was  assisted  in  the 
work  by  Mr.  Gerard  Fowke,  author  of  the  Archae 
ological  History  of  Ohio,  published  by  the  Ohio  State 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  and  Mr.  Clin 
ton  Cowen,  official  surveyor  for  Hamilton  county. 
The  two  latter  gentlemen  made  a  careful  survey  of 
the  works  and  drew  the  map  which  is  now  the  ac 
cepted  authoritative  outline  of  the  fortificatio 

LOCATION  OF  THE  FORT. 

The  site  selected  by  its  builders  for  this  great 
est  fortress,  grandest  temple  or  largest  walled  city, 
which  ever  it  may  have  been,  was  most  advanta 
geously  chosen,  on  a  slightly  rolling  plateau,  overlook 
ing  the  valley  of  the  Little  Miami  River,  in  central 
Warren  county,  some  forty  miles  northeast  of  the 
mouth  of  that  river,  where  it  enters  the  Ohio  at  Cin 
cinnati.  The  river  at  the  point  in  question,  coming 
from  the  north,  flows  through  a  most  picturesque  val 
ley  perhaps  a  mile  in  width  and  flanked  on  each  side 
by  elevated  uplands.  On  the  east  side  a  section 
of  the  elevation  is  nearly  separated  from  the  adjoin 
ing  plateau  by  two  deep  ravines,  beginning  within  a 
few  hundred  feet  of  each  other,  the  one,  starting  north 
and  then  running  west,  enters  the  Miami  valley,  the 
other  starting  south  curves  to  the  west,  debauching 


78  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

into  the  same  valley.  The  plat,  accompanying  this 
description  and  made  especially  for  this  publication, 
shows  these  ravines  and  their  creeks.  This  plateau  is 
about  three  hundred  feet  above  the  river  level.  The 
banks  of  these  ravines  form  steep  sides  on  the  east 


Entrance  to  Fort  from  the  West. 

and  on  the  north  of  the  peninsula  which  they  cut  off; 
the  only  approachable  way  to  the  peninsula  being  the 
neck  or  strip  of  level  plateau  between  the  heads  or 
sources  of  the  two  ravines.  The  west  or  Miami  side  of 
the  hill  is  for  the  most  part  abrupt  and  difficult  of 
ascent.  The  ravines  on  the  east,  north  and  south 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          79 

of  the  hill  are  exceedingly  irregular  in  outline, 
creating  sharp  curves,  jagged  points  and  irregular 
indentations  in  the  hillside,  at  one  point,  near 
the  center  of  the  hill,  these  ravines  almost  unite, 
leaving  a  narrow  neck  only  about  five  hundred 
feet  wide.  Here  the  declivity  on  each  side  is  very 
steep.  Around  this  peninsula,  on  the  very  verge  of 
the  skirting  ravines,  was  built  the  wall  of  defense; 
meandering  around  the  spurs,  recoiling  to  pass  the 
heads  of  the  gullies,  it  is  so  zigzag  in  its  course 
that  its  entire  length  is  18,712  feet  or  more  than 
three  and  one-half  miles,  while  the  direct  line  from 
the  north  wall  to  the  south  wall  is  only  5,000  feet 
or  less  than  one  mile.  Something  over  one  hun 
dred  acres,  Moorehead  says  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six,  are  enclosed  within  the  walls.  This  enclos 
ure  is  divided  by  the  contour  of  the  embankments 
into  what  are  known  as  the  North  or  New  Fort,  the 
Middle  Fort  and  the  South  or  Old  Fort.  The  terms 
"new"  and  "old"  were  suggested  by  the  idea  that  the 
south  fort  would  naturally  be  the  first  one  to  be  con 
structed  as  it,  utilized  alone,  would  be  more  secure 
and  inaccessible  than  the  new  —  which  latter  was 
"later"  taken  in  to  protect  the  entire  hilltop.  This 
supposition,  like  much  that  is  put  forth  concerning 
the  fort,  is  however  a  fanciful  guess. 

The  traveler  alights  from  the  train  at  "Fort  An 
cient  Station,"  a  collection  of  hotel,  store,  postoffice 
and  three  or  four  houses,  by  no  means  the  "loveliest 
village  of  the  plain,"  yet  so  lapsed  into  "innocuous 


80          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

desuetude"  that  compared  to  it,  Goldsmith's  famous 
"deserted  village"  was  a  scene  of  exciting  activity. 
In  the  seasons  of  the  year  when  the  trees  and  hill 
sides  are  stripped  of  their  foliage,  from  the  station 
one  can  plainly  see  the  Avails  which  cap  the  hilltop. 
A  circuituous  and  strenuous  climb  of  nearly  a  mile 
up  the  Lebanon  and  Chillicothe  Pike  brings  one  to 
the  main  entrance,  marked  "A"  in  our  outline  dia 
gram.  The  impression  is  at  once  created  that  one 
is  entering  an  imposing  structure  of  some  kind ;  these 
gateway  walls  on  either  side  are  massive  in  base  and 
height,  rising  with  hump  back  summits  above  the 
continuing  walls  which  they  terminate.  This  gate 
way  has  probably  been  widened  by  the  pike.  As  one 
passes  through,  a  view  is  obtained  of  a  long  stretch 
of  lofty  and  shapely  walls  on  the  east  side  of  the 
New  Fort.  This  sight  is  at  once  reassuring  —  the 
visitor  is  now  certain  there  is  to  be  no  disappoint 
ment  about  this  "famous  fort;"  it  is  not  the  fiction 
of  imagination,  you  are  really  going  to  see  all  and 
more  than  you  expected;  your  interest  and  wonder 
are  at  once  aroused,  Fort  Ancient,  whatever  its  origin 
or  purpose,  it  itself  no  myth. 

The  Avail  deserves  careful  study.  It  is  a  marvel 
ous  piece  of  defensive  construction.  Its  Avidth, 
height  and  contents  vary  as  the  requirements  of  the 
hill  top  and  the  proposed  formidableness  of  the  de 
fense  demands.  The  base  breadth  is  from  thirty  to 
fifty  feet,  in  some  places  as  much  as  seventy,  the 
height  from  ten  to  twenty-two  feet,  measuring  from 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  81 


RANDALL  RUN 


;   J 


Diagram   of  Fort   Ancient,    Designating   Points   as    Described 
in  the  Text. 


82  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builder*. 

the  level  of  the  fort  interior.  The  Avail's  surface  has 
an  outward  slope  from  thirty-five  to  forty-three  de 
grees.  This  Avail  height  is  much  increased  at  places 
on  the  interior  by  a  moat  or  ditch  from  which  the 
material  Avas  taken  to  build  the  barricade.  This 
moat  at  places  Avas  found  to  be  originally  from  two  to 
seven  feet  deep,  but  has  at  all  points  been  greatly 


Entrance  to  Fort  from  Inside  Looking  West. 

filled  in  by  the  natural  S!OAV  deposit  of  decayed  ac 
cumulation,  leaAres,  wood,  vegetable  matter,  soil,  etc. 
At  some  sections  of  the  Avail,  particularly  in  the  new 
fort,  where  the  Avail  on  the  east  faces  the  open 
plateau  a  moat  AATas  built  exterior  to  the  wall.  Wheth 
er  these  inside  "moats"  were  built  as  such  or  Avere 
merely  the  incidental  depressions  created  by  the  re 
moval  of  the  earth  for  the  wall  is  a  disputed  point. 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          83 

It  has  been  suggested  that  these  moats,  or  some  of 
them,  where  especially  wide  and  deep,  may  have  been 
utilized  as  reservoirs  or  artificial  ponds  in  which  to 
store  water.  The  soil  from  which  the  embankment 
is  built  is  a  tough,  diluvial  clay  or  loam.  This  con 
sistency  of  the  material  has  been  an  important  factor 
in  the  preservation  of  these  Avails. 

At  the  risk  of  tedium  and  monotony,  let  us  cir 
cumambulate  these  walls.  It  is  a  journey  as  enter 
taining  as  it  is  exhilarating,  occupying  three  or  four 
hours  —  the  only  means  of  obtaining  a  true  apprecia 
tion  of  the  extent  and  ingenuity  of  this  unequaled 
enclosure.  The  walking  for  the  most  part  is  good; 
the  wall  top  is  everywhere  so  spacious  and  level  that 
were  it  not  for  the  innumerable  trees  that  pre-empt 
the  way  and  the  breaks  made  by  the  gateways  and 
gullies,  one  could  drive  a  "coach  and  four"  along  the 
summit. 

THE  NORTH  WALL. 

We  climb  the  wall  on  the  left,  the  western  point 
of  the  north  wall  of  the  New  Fort.  This  wall  extends 
almost  due  east  and  west  for  a  distance  of  nearly 
half  a  mile.  It  follows  along  the  summit  edge  of  a 
deep  ravine  which  at  its  western  outlet  almost  de 
serves  the  title  of  valley.  The  base  of  this  ravine  is 
the  bed  of  a  little  stream  designated  as  IiandalPs 
I\un.  The  south  side  of  this  ravine  which  the  walls 
face  is  very  steep,  the  ascent  being  quite  impossible. 
This  wall,  strong  and  well  preserved,  varies  in  height 
and  width  and  is  broken  by  some  nine  or  ten  open- 


84  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

ings,  natural  or  artificial.  In  several  places  gullies, 
which  cut  into  the  steep  sides  of  the  ravine,  extend 
up  to  and  through  the  fort  walls.  These  natural  open 
ings,  the  gullies  or  cuts  made  by  the  outflow  of  water 
from  within  the  fort  and  those  made  by  the  gradual 
approach  or  ascent  of  the  gullies  from  the  valley 
ravines  below  can  be  accounted  for.  The  artificial 
openings  or  gateways,  over  seventy  in  number  in  the 
entire  fort,  are  not  so  easily  explained  as  the  number 
of  them  is  far  in  excess  of  the  apparent  necessity  for 
purposes  of  egress  and  ingress  and  moreover  they  are 
frequently  at  places  where  the  ascent  or  descent  of 
the  hillside  is  now  practically  impossible.  We  will 
discuss  these  gully  openings  and  gateway  passages 
later  on.  The  north  wall  from  "A"  to  "B"  is  especial 
ly  well  formed;  through  this  three  gullies  have  cut 
their  course,  the  most  Avesterly  one  in  a  particularly 
distinctive  way.  Below  the  wall  from  "B"  to  "C," 
some  thirty  feet  down  the  declivity,  the  steep  hill 
side  is  checked  and  presents  a  "terrace"  or  level  land 
ing,  perhaps  a  thousand  feet  long  and  one  hundred 
broad.  These  hillside  terraces  occur  at  man}7  other 
places  in  the  hillsides  leading  up  to  the  fort.  They 
are  the  subject  of  much  discussion,  the  query  being 
whether  they  are  natural  or  were  made  by  the  Mound 
Builders.  Our  answer  would  be  probably  in  most 
instances  "natural,"  possibly  in  rare  instances  arti 
ficial,  not  unlikely  they  might  in  some  places  be  both 
at  the  same  time,  the  original  formation  being  em 
ployed  to  complete  a  "platform."  These  terraces  in 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          85 

many  places  were  used  as  burying  grounds  as  we 
shall  see ;  to  what  other  use  they  may  have  been  put  is 
a  matter  of  conjecture.  This  terrace,  we  first  see,  has 
every  appearance  of  being  simply  a  natural  shelf  in 
the  hill.  Fort  Ancient  is  so  extraordinary  itself  that 


Entrance  —  Fort  Ancient   Park,  North  Fort. 

it  creates  the  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  students 
and  spectators  to  give  an  unusual  interpretation  to 
every  accessory  feature.  This  tendency  has  led  to 
many  most  fantastic  conclusions  and  grotesque  state 
ments.  About  opposite  the  center  of  this  north  wall, 
and  curving  into  the  present  roadway,  is  a  crescent- 


86 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


shaped  mound,  originally  two  hundred  and  seventy 
feet  in  length,  its  convex  side  facing  the  wall.  It  is 
now  but  few  feet  high,  having  been  badly  defaced. 
Returning  to  the  wall,  it  is  noticed  that  at  points,  par 
ticularly  from  "0"  to  "D,"  it  has  been  carried  below 
the  summit  level,  the  fort  interior  rising  above  it.  This 
occurs  at  only  a  few  other  places  in  the  construction 
of  the  fort.  Within  the  north  wall,  especially  along 
the  eastern  end,  is  a  moat,  or  ditch,  formed  by  the 


Section  of  East  Wall,  North  Fort. 

removal  of  the  soil  for  the  wall.  In  this  moat  much 
water  now  stands,  indeed  has  been  of  so  long  stand 
ing  that  a  willow  tree  has  risen  from  its  flag  and 
rush-filled  pool  to  add  its  weeping  presence  to  the 
great  variety  of  other  trees  that  stand  like  rowrs  of 
sentinels  on  the  fort  Avails ;  a  long  file  of  stately  sol 
diers  they  make;  beech,  ash,  hickory,  elm,  walnut, 
cherry,  poplar,  sugar,  oak,  gum,  buckeye,  occasion 
ally  a  silvery  sycamore,  stand  guard  along  the  para 
pets  which  they  Avell  nigh  have  made  immovable  and 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  87 

imperishable,  their  tough  embracing  roots,  like  bands 
of  iron  and  hoops  of  steel,  grasping  the  earth  erec 
tions  and  holding  them  firmly  in  place.  The  north 
wall  at  its  east  end  where  it  turns  toward  the  south 
is  carried  to  an  unusual  height,  for  here  the  gorge 
has  tapered  to  a  narrow  wedge;  the  wall  leaves  the 
steep  ravine  side  and  the  level  plateau  begins,  afford 
ing  a  point  the  enemy  might  well  select  for  a  stealthy 
assault  from  the  ravine  head.  At  "D"  is  the  gate 
way,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  enclosure. 

PARALLEL  WALLS  AND  PAVEHENT. 

Before  continuing  our  walk  we  go  outside  a  few 
hundred  feet  east  on  the  pike  to  see  the  two  mounds, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  road  from  which  began  the 
Parallel  Walls.  These  mounds  originally  ten  feet 
high  and  forty  feet  in  diameter  are  some  sixty  feet 
apart,  On  being  opened  they  were  found  to  contain 
nothing  but  some  charcoal  flakes  and  a  few  pieces  of 
broken  pottery.  From  each  mound  extending  east 
there  was  built  a  low  earthen  roadway  elevation,  a 
foot  or  more  in  height,  twelve  feet  wide,  and  a  little 
more  than  one-quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.  At  the  east 
ern  end  these  elevations  came  together  in  a  circular 
curve,  within  the  center  of  which  curve  was  a  little 
mound.  These  earthen  parallel  lines  are  now  entirely 
obliterated  but  were  clearly  traced  by  earlier  investi 
gators  and  were  defined  and  described  by  Prof. 
Moorehead.  What  they  were  for  "nobody  knows." 
A  reasonable  presumption  would  be  that  they  were 


88 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


in  some  way  connected  with  the  games,  possibly  cere 
monies  of  the  builders.  Similar  structures  have 
been  found  in  other  places  in  Ohio.  They  have  been 
more  often  than  otherwise  dubbed  "race  courses." 
It  may  have  been  a  gauntlet  ground.  Between  these 
parallel  walls,  extending  from  the  west  end,  for  more 

than  two  h  u  n  d  r  e  d 
feet  was  unearthed  a 
"stone  pavement,"  It 
was  first  discovered, 
about  18G8,  by  Mr. 
George  Ridge  who  re 
sided  on  the  north 
side  of  the  pike  a 
short  distance  east  of 
the  north  m  o  u  n  d. 
This  "pavement"  lay 
from  one  to  three  feet 
under  the  present  soil 


Entrance  to  Fort  from  East,  Looking 

West.     On  Each   Side  of  this 

Road  Ran  the  Parallel  Walls. 


surface,  and  was  built 
of  limestone  slabs, 
averaging  a  bout  a 
foot  in  length,  six  in 
ches  in  width  and  two  and  a  half  inches  in  thickness. 
Its  width  was  the  space  between  the  parallel  Avails, 
averaging  seventy-five  feet;  its  length  appears  not  to 
have  been  definitely  determined,  the  statements,  by 
different  authorities,  concerning  the  same,  varying 
from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet.  It  lay,  of 
course,  beneath  the  present  pike.  In  places  the  stones 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          89 


Fort    Ancient.      Plan   by    Caleb    Atwater   in    American    Antiquarian 
Society   Proceedings,  1820. 


90          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

showed  evidences  of  having  been  subjected  to  great 
heat  and  all  were  somewhat  worn  on  the  upper  side 
or  surface,  not  by  "the  inaudible  and  noiseless  foot 
of  time,"  but,  so  the  discoverers  claim,  by  the  feet 
that  trod  incessantly  to  and  fro  or  by  those  that 
"tripped  the  light  fantastic,"  as  more  than  one  writer 
thinks  this  was  a  place  of  amusement,  a  sort  of  as 
sembly  hall  for  aboriginal  gaiety.  Perhaps  the  first 
published  notice  of  this  "pavement"  occurs  in  The 
Cincinnati  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science  for  July 
1874.  That  number  gives  an  account  of  a  visit  to 
Fort  Ancient  by  The  Cincinnati  Society  of  Natural 
History,  the  party  consisting  of  some  fifty  gentlemen, 
scientifically  and  archseologically  inclined.  In  the 
report  of  that  excursion  occurs  the  following : 

"It  is  said  that  a  pavement  of  thin  limestone  has  been  discov 
ered  a  foot  or  more  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  extending 
several  hundred  yards  in  a  southeast  direction  from  these  mounds, 
and  I  saw  in  the  field  nearby  many  of  these  flat  stones  that  had  been 
plowed  up,  and  upon  digging  a  foot  or  more  in  depth  at  this  place 
found  the  pavement,  and  lifted  up  some  of  the  thin,  badly  weather 
worn  stone,  which  had  evidently  been  placed  where  found,  because 
the  diluvial  soil  and  drift  was  several  feet  thick  below  them.  The 
excavation  and  work  at  this  place  was  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Hosea  and  J.  Kelly  O'Neil,  who  were  fully  satisfied  that  they  were 
lifting  up  the  pavement  laid  by  the  subjects  of  the  king  of  the 
Mound  Builders  anywhere  from  ten  to  five  hundred  thousand 
years  ago,  as  it  best  suits  the  imagination,  always  being  willing 
to  rise  or  fall  a  peg  or  two  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  inquisitor." 

Judge  L.  M.  Hosea  in  a  subsequent  number  of 
the  Journal  of  Science  (1874)  gives  at  length  a  most 


Masterpiece*  of  the  Mound  Builders.  91 

interesting  and  scholarly  description  of  the  Fort,  In 
relating  his  investigations  of  the  pavement  he  in 
dulges  in  a  pleasing  fancy  over  the  scene  suggested  hy 
the  stone  floor  and  its  accompanying  parallel  walls. 

"Imagination  was  not  slow  to  conjecture  up  the  scene  which 
was  once  doubtless  familiar  to  the  dwellers  at  Fort  Ancient.  A 
train  of  worshipers,  led  by  priests  clad  in  their  sacred  robes,  and 


Roadway  Approaching  Entrance  to  Middle  Fort. 

bearing  aloft  the  holy  utensils,  pass  in  the  early  morning,  ere  yet 
the  mists  have  risen  in  the  valley  below,  along  the  gently  swelling 
ridge  on  which  the  ancient  roadway  lies.  They  near  the  mound, 
and  a  solemn  stillness  succeeds  their  chanting  songs;  the  priests 
ascend  the  hill  of  sacrifice  and  prepare  the  sacred  fire.  Now  the 
first  beams  of  the  rising  sun  shoot  up  athwart  the  ruddy  sky,  gild 
ing  the  topmost  bough  of  the  trees.  The  holy  flame  is  kindled,  a 
curling  wreath  of  smoke  arises  to  greet  the  coming  god ;  the  trem 
ulous  hush  which  was  upon  all  nature  breaks  into  vocal  joy,  and 


92  Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

songs  of  gladness  burst  from  the  throats  of  the  waiting  multitude 
as  the  glorious  luminary  arises  in  majesty  and  beams  upon  his  ador 
ing  people.  A  promise  of  renewed  life  and  happiness.  Vain  prom 
ise,  since  even  his  rays  can  not  penetrate  the  utter  darkness  which 
for  ages  has  settled  over  his  people." 

Professor  Moorehead  thinks  this  stone  platform 
was  for  the  purpose  of  a  dry  floor,  when  the  surround 
ing  ground  might  be  wet  and  muddy,  upon  which  the 
natives  could  hold  dances,  while  the  mounds  and 
parallel  walls  "would  afford  an  excellent  position  for 
on-lookers  and  for  squaws  who  would  beat  tom-toms 
and  accompany  the  dance  with  their  usual  doleful 
singing."  lie  adds :  "We  believe  this  is  the  only  in 
stance  of  ancient  pavement  proven  beyond  a  doubt  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley  *  *  *  the  earth,  which  ac 
cumulated  over  them  (stones)  would  give  them  an  age 
of  several  hundred  years  at  least."  He'  designates 
the  date  of  their  placement  at  1400  A.  D.,  but  ac 
knowledges  this  is  "conjectural." 

If  this  "floor"  really  existed  to  the  extent  claimed, 
its  purpose  will  doubtless  have  many  more  guesses 
coming.  As  certainly  may  this  "arrangement"  have 
been  the  scene  of  religious  incantations,  sacrificial 
rites,  a  "den  of  superstition,"  perhaps  the  burning- 
stake-field  for  the  captives,  the  apostates,  the  trait 
ors,  and  the  condemned  criminals. 


of  tlte  Mound  Builders.          93 


EAST  WALL. 

But  we  turn  from  "this  pleasaut  place  of  all  fes 
tivity/'  or  "chamber  of  horrors/17  whichever  it  may 
have  been,  to  resume  our  discursion  along  the  walls. 
The  stretch  of  defense  in  four  divisions  from  "D,"  the 
eastern  gateway,  to  "E"  is  the  most  clear  cut  and 
"fortlike"  perhaps  in  the  enclosure.  These  walls 


East  Wall  (North)   Fort  Ancient  from  Field  Outside 

defend  the  interior  from  the  level  field  that  like  a 
great  plain  sweeps  to  the  east  toward  Chillicothe. 
These  Avails  loom  up  straight  and  shapely  and  cut 
the  horizon  like  pyramids  in  the  desert.  The  first 
three  of  these  sections  are  separately,  85,  110  and 
159  feet  in  length,  they  are  some  seventy  feet  broad 
at  the  base  and  twenty-three  feet  high.  They  are 


94          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

among  the  noblest  examples  of  Mound  Builders'  de 
fensive  battlements.  It  is  outside  these  walls  that 
the  wide  and  deep  moat  existed.  Water  stood  there 
in  continuously  until  a  very  recent  date.  This  ditch 
must  have  been  an  intentional  moat  to  protect  the 
walls  which  here  defend  the  most  exposed  approach 
to  the  fort.  The  moat  inside  is  shallow,  at 
least  now;  it  must  have  been  filled  in  by  the  work 


East  Wall,  North  Fort. 

of  time.  The  open  gateways,  ten  feet  or  less  across 
at  the  base,  are  perfectly  preserved.  Why  the  open 
ings  in  the  most  vulnerable  point  of  the  fort?  Much 
speculation  has  been  indulged  thereat.  In  many  of 
the  enclosures  in  the  valleys  or  river  bottoms,  else 
where  in  the  state,  these  openings  are  protected  by 
conical  mounds  immediately  before  and  within  the 
open  space;  in  some  fortifications  this  mound  is 
convex  or  horseshoe  shaped,  as  the  stone  one  on 
Spruce  Hill  and  most  notably  at  Miami  Fort.  Not 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.          95 

so  at  Fort  Ancient.  The  artificial  gateways  gape 
wide  open  and  give  no  hint  of  protective  features. 
It  has  been  surmised  that  originally  these  breaks 
were  built  across  with  palisades  or  stockades  or 
that  fence-like  wooden  shields  were  set  back  some 
distance  before  the  passage  space  like  a  great  screen 
before  an  open  door.  Many  insist  that  even  on  the 
walls  themselves  a  palisade  fence  was  built.  But  the 
evidence  of  such  in  the  way  of  decayed  wood,  post 
holes,  etc.,  is  wanting,  not  only  at  Fort  Ancient  but 
in  the  mound  structures  elsewhere.  The  Mound 
Builders  in  their  mounds  and  defenses  seem  to  have 
adhered  strictly  to  earth  or  stone  material,  except  in 
their  graves  and  burial  chambers.  Dr.  Selden  S.  Sco- 
ville,  in  an  address  (1892)  before  the  American  Asso 
ciation  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  suggests 
these  gateways  may  have  served  as  places  where  the 
besieged  could  make  sallies  and  retreats,  in  order  to 
decoy  the  enemy  within  the  enclosure  to  be  captured. 
For  we  know  that  almost  all  barbarous  people  regard 
the  capture  of  their  enemies  as  of  more  importance 
than  killing  them  in  battle.  Mr.  Thomas  J.  Brown, 
editor  of  the  Mlninl  (i alette  and  a  devoted  student  of 
Fort  Ancient,  which  he  began  to  visit  fifty  years  ago, 
has  the  following  theory  concerning  the  gateways : 

"In  reading  descriptions  of  Fort  Ancient  we  notice  constant 
allusion  to  its  numerous  'gateways,'  and  these  are  generally  coupled 
with  expression  of  wonder  that  there  should  be  so  many.  Now 
I  have  made  these  'gateways'  my  special  study  d'lring  my  whole 
acquaintance  with  it.  I  have  walked  the  whole  length  of  the  ram- 


96          Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

parts  and  counted  every  footstep  and  every  gap,  and  carefully 
noted  the  distance  of  these  gaps  apart,  and  long  ago  concluded 
that  there  are  but  about  five  bona-fide  gateways,  the  rest  being 
intended  rather  for  points  of  defense  than  for  places  of  ingress 
and  egress.  The  earthen  ramparts  would  afford  little  protection 
to  the  defenders  in  case  an  assault  were  made  upon  them.  The 
inside  slopes  are  as  steep  as  the  outside  and  afford  no  suitable 
standpoint,  so  the  defenders'  bodies  would  be  protected  and  yet 
give  him  an  opportunity  to  see  over  the  rampart.  If  he  stood  upon 
the  top  he  would  be  even  a  better  target  for  the  assailants  than 
they  would  be  for  him.  I  consider  it  necessary  to  conclude  that 
each  of  these  gaps  was  occupied  with  a  blockhouse  reaching  out 
beyond  the  wall,  forming  a  bastion  from  wThich  defenders  could 
enfilade  the  outside  of  the  ramparts  most  effectually.  The  distance 
of  these  gaps  apart  is  in  no  case  too  great  to  serve  this  purpose, 
and  if  we  consider  it  in  this  way,  the  whole  outside  of  the  walls 
could  be  defended  with  very  little  exposure  on  the  part  of  the 
defenders.  There  was  evidently  one  gateway  where  the  public  road 
now  enters  from  each  side,  and  o"ne  at  the  extreme  farthest  end  of 
the  'old  fort,'  one  near  the  middle  of  the  north  side,  and  one  most 
likely  on  the  west  side  opening  from  the  peninsula,  and  one  nearly 
opposite  on  the  east  side.  The  rest  of  these  gaps  were  intended 
merely  to  give  opportunity  for  introducing  blockhouses  at  proper 
distances  and  in  proper  positions  for  defense,  and  may  have  been 
supplied  with  small  wickets,  easily  closed  and  easily  defended. 
Even  the  acknowledged  gateways  were  probably  built  in  the  same 
general  way,  but  with  the  portal  idea  unmistakable  and  prominent/'' 

From  "E"  to  the  incising  gully  "F"  is  a  deep 
moat.  The  ravine  of  Cowen  Creek  here  begins  to 
carve  down  the  hillside;  the  channel  of  this  creek 
grows  deeper  and  steeper  as  it  plows  its  way  south 
till,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  fort-hill,  it  unites 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  97 

•with  Stony  Hollow  Creek,  which  latter  Hows  from  the 
northeast  and  empties  into  the  Miami.  These  rayines, 
with  their  radiating  gullies,  make  the  hill  summit 
exceedingly  irregular  and  jagged.  The  walls  follow 
the  crest-line  closely;  in  order  to  do  so  they  make 
many  a  sharp  turn  and  often  a  quick  reversal.  In 
deed  the  wall  is  largely  a  row  of  horseshoes  or  convex 
curves  between  the  intervening  gullies.  The  moat 


Section  of  East  Wall   (South)   Fort  Ancient  from  Inside. 

interior  to  the  eastern  and  southern  walls  of  the 
New  Fort,  "F"  to  "I,"  is  very  marked.  From  the 
gully  "F"  to  gully  "II,"  there  are  several  artificial 
openings  in  the  wall  and  some  of  them  at  places 
where  the  ravine  side  is  so  precipitous  that  a  gate 
way  would  be  superfluous,  if  not  absolutely  useless. 
Some  of  these  "openings,"  however,  offer  peculiar 
construction.  The  moat,  in  these  cases,  stops  at  the 

7 


98 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


base  of  the  opening  or  is  filled  in,  leaving  the  interior 
surface  continuous  through  the  gateway,  and  in  not  a 
few  instances,  outside  the  Avails  before  the  opening,  is 
built  a  little  platform,  a  continuation  of  the  level 
walk  which  passes  through  the  opening.  These  walk 
ways,  through  and  beyond  the  gateways,  are  very 


Entrance  to  Middle  Fort  or  Crescent  Gateway  Locking   South. 

distinct  in  places.  This  exterior  "platform"  might 
be  used  as  a  lookout  or  sentinel  stand,  and  especially 
would  this  landing  be  of  advantage  when  located  on 
the  edge  of  an  inaccessible  declivity.  These  external 
platforms  occur  most  frequently  along  the  east  wall 
of  the  fort,  suggesting  the  idea  that  attack  was  most 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.  99 

feared  on  that  side,  yet  the  west  side  of  the  fort  which 
was  more  approachable,,  has  fewer  of  these  platform 
projections. 

GREAT  GATEWAY. 

At  "I"  the  hilltop  narrows  and  the  isthmus  or 
neck  begins.     The  neck  at  this  point  is  not  over  two 


Great  Gateway  from  the  North. 

hundred  feet  wide  and  advances  with  varying  breadth 
for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  nowhere  exceeding  three  hun 
dred  feet  in  width  and  terminating  at  the  narrowest 
point  less  than  one  hundred  feet  across,  at  the  en 
trance  of  the  Old  Fort  called  the  Great  Gateway.  The 
walls  on  either  side  of  the  isthmus  are  the  lowest  and 


100        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

least  formidable  of  any  section  because  the  natural 
protection  on  each  side  of  the  isthmus  is  the  greatest. 
Near  the  center  of  this  isthmus  where  it  widens  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  the  erecters  of  the  fort 
built  the  Crescent  Gateway;  a  sort  of  intermediate 
barricade.  It  consists  of  two  curving  mounds,  side 
by  side,  each  convexing  toward  the  north  and  extend 
ing  to  the  Avails  on  either  side  of  the  neck.  This 
seems  to  mean  that  the  enemy  would  be  expected 
to  first  attack  the  New  Fort  and  if  successful  then 
advance  along  the  neck  and  assault  the  Old  Fort. 
The  Crescent  duly  manned  would  check  if  not  defeat 
the  enemy's  progress.  This  Crescent  Mound  is  en 
tirely  and  adroitly  in  accord  with  the  whole  scheme 
of  the  fort  defense.  The  space  between  the  Crescent 
and  Great  Gateway  is  called  the  Middle  Fort.  On 
both  sides  of  this  section  the  hillsides  are  unusually 
steep  and  rugged,  being  cut  by  d'eep  gorges,  the  walls 
are  therefore  lower  than  elsewhere  and  for  a  short 
distance  entirely  lacking;  the  perpendicularity  of  the 
hillside  being  sufficient  protection  against  approach. 
The  Great  Gateway  is  flanked  on  both  sides  by  walls 
that  are  strengthened  and  enlarged;  heaps  of  stones 
being  used  in  their  erection.  Indeed  the  Avails  which 
here  curve  in  to  make  the  narrow  passage,  allowing 
no  more  room  than  would  permit  a  wagon  to  pass, 
look  from  either  side  more  like  separate  mounds  than 
sections  of  the  continuing  wall.  The  passage  path 
between  these  mound's  is  elevated,  so  as  to  give  an 
incline  inside  and  out,  thus  adding  to  the  facility 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.         101 

with  which  ingress  could  be  prevented.  This  citadel 
of  the  fort  is  the  acme  of  the  engineering  plan ;  it  is 
literally  the  piece  de  resistcncc  that  awakens  admira 
tion  for  the  military  genius  of  the  Mound  Builders. 
Here  science  weakens  before  sentiment  and  poetry 


The  Great  Gateway  from  the  North. 

gets  the  better  of  archeology,  for  just  inside  the  Old 
Fort  on  the  west,  as  you  emerge  from  the  Great  Gate 
way,  is  a  conical  mound,  ten  feet  high,  with  a  base 
diameter  of  forty  feet,  near  which  were  found  heaps 
of  stones,  used  both  as  coyer  ings  for  graves  and  to 
strengthen  the  wall.  Human  bones  in  vast  quanti- 


102        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

ties  —  "bushels  of  them"  -  were  found  here  a  few  in 
ches  below  the  surface  soil.  Was  this  the  burial  spot 
and  was  this  mound  the  monument  to  heroes  who,  bat 
tling  bravely  for  the  "pass,"  like  the  three  hundred 
of  Grecian  glory,  sank  never  to  rise  again, 

The  hopeless   warriors   of  a   willing   doom, 
In  bleak  Thermopylae's   sepulchral   strait. 

What  bloody  encounters  here  occurred,  how  this 
narrow  passage  was  piled  with  the  bodies  of  the  dead 
and  dying  Ave  can  never  know,  for 

Here,  where  they  died,  their   buried   records  lie, 
Silent  they  speak   from  out  the   shadowy  past. 

OLD  FORT. 

We  are  now  inside  the  Old  Fort.  From  the  Great 
Gateway  the  two  walls  which  constitute  the  Old  Fort 
greatly  diverge,  one  runs  directly  east,  the  other 
~ sou th west.  Tal?  wall  on  the  left  from  the  Great  Gate 
way,,  as  you  enter'  the  South  Fort,  makes  a  lengthy 
carve*  toward  *tlie  east,  conforming  to  the  hill  contour 
("K"  to  "17').  This  wall  carries  a  wide  and  deep 
interior  moat;  exterior  to  it,  thirty  or  forty  feet  down 
the  steep  incline,  is  a  terrace,  narrow,  shelving  and 
long.  This  terrace  is  located  in  the  wildest  portion 
of  Fort  Ancient.  The  ravine  here  is  deeper  than 
ever,  the  side  below  the  terrace  nearly  perpendicular; 
on  this  terrace  were  innumerable  burials,  the  graves 
being  of  the  crudest  sort,  the  interments  very  shal 
low,  and  covered  with  plentiful  supply  of  stones.  It 


Masterpieces  of  tlie  Mound  Builders. 


103 


was  surely  a  fitting  spot  for  the  undisturbed  repose 
of  the  warrior.  Under  the  very  walls  in  whose  de 
fense  they  may  have  sacrificed  their  lives;  on  the 
brink  of  a  wild,  foreboding  ravine,  so  indicative  in 
its  nature  of  their  own  savage  lives,  the  babbling 
brook  and  soughing  tree-branches  sang  the  requiem 


Mound  in  Old  Fort  Just  Inside  Great  Gateway. 

of  the  buried.  Was  ever  a  more  secluded  bivouac 
for  the  dead?  But  if  curse  was  uttered  against  any 
who  might  move  those  bones,  it  phased  not  the  archae 
ologist,  for  as  one  walks  along  the  wall  that  looks 
down  upon  this  barbarian  cemetery  one  may  see  the 
desecrated  tenantless  sepulchres  and  the  scattered 
stones,  the  pitiless  work  of  curious  scientists. 


104        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

Between  the  "L"  and  "M"  angle  is  a  gateway 
opening  out  upon  a  spur  platform  such  as  has  been 
previously  mentioned.  The  trench  within  the  wall  is 
most  marked.  From  "N"  to  "O"  the  cliff  is  un 
usually  steep  and  the  wall  less  defensive.  At  "O" 
is  one  of  the  most  extensive  spur  tables  in  all  the 
range  of  the  walls.  From  this  point  in  the  absence 
of  foliage  the  eye  could  follow  the  full  length  of 
the  Old  Fort  east  wall.  The  southeast  corner  of 
the  Old  Fort  ("P")  offers  another  spur  commanding 
a  most  splendid  view  of  the  Stony  Hollow  ravine  as 
it  extends  from  its  narrow  source  to  its  broad  en 
trance  into  the  Miami  valley,  on  the  right.  This  is  a 
scene  of  wildest  tiny  grandeur,  if  one  may  so  speak, 
for  the  spectator  stands  far  above  the  lofty  tops  of 
the  trees  which  fill  and  pack  the  ravine  and  crowd 
up  its  straggling  broken  hillsides.  It  is  a  little  black 
forest;  the  interlocking  branches  of  the  elbow-touch 
ing  trees  shut  out  the  struggling  sunbeams  and  the 
shadows  cast  their  gloom  over  the  open  spaces  of 

"The  sunken  glen,  whose  sunless  shrubs  must  weep." 

It  must  have  been  such  a  compact,  dense  army  of  tree- 
tops  that  appeared  to  the  frenzied  imagination  of 
Macbeth  when  told  that  "Birnam  Avood  do  move  to 
Dunsinane." 

Betwixt  the  platform  gateway  at  "Q"  and  the 
angle  "Kv  the  Avail  has  a  wide  moat  within,  while 
beneath  the  Avail  outside  is  another  terrace,  not 
very  distinctly  formed,  but  serving  as  another 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.         105 

cemetery,  for  here  numerous  graves  were  found. 
The  gully  marked  "S,"  midway  in  the  hillside  and 
wall  of  the  Old  Fort,  is  exceedingly  broad  and  cav 
ernous,  the  breach  in  the  earth  works  being  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  feet  or  more  in  extent.  The  hill  brow 
was  originally  carved  out  by  a  broad  curve,  as  in- 


Section  of  South  Wall,  Old  Fort. 

dicated  by  the  wall  following  the  edge,  but  the 
gully  subsequently  cut  under  and  through  the  wall, 
making  the  ugly  scission  noted.  We  mention  this 
as  a  sample  "wash  out"  which  the  archaeologists 
and  geologists  utilize  as  an  age  indicator.  The 
theorv  and  claim  is  that  in  the  cases  where  the 


106        Masterpieces  of  tlic  Mound  Builders. 

gully  or  ravine  has  destroyed  the  Avail  and  invaded 
the  fort  interior,  the  time  which  nature  required  to  ex 
tend  the  ravine  to  its  present  limits  within  the  walls, 
measures  the  age  of  those  walls.  These  geological 
timekeepers  tell  us  some  of  these  ravines  were  many 
hundreds  of  years  in  working  themselves  out,  even 
five  and  six  thousand  years  are  among  the  figures 
mentioned  in  connection  with  this  fort. 

But  has  nature  always  run  her  ravine  trains  ac 
cording  to  unchangeable  geologic  time  tables?  AVith- 
out  attempting  the  scientific  diagnosis,  this  in 
substance  is  the  method  of  notation,  and  it  is  given 
without  comment  for  what  it  is  worth.  It  is  certainly 
more  reasonable  than  some  other  methods  of  so-called 
scientific  computation. 

In  some  instances  the  apex  or  head  of  the  gully 
where  it  clipped  the  hilltop  would  be  walled  across, 
the  wall  instead  of  going  around  to  avoid  the 
cut  and  shut  it  out,  would  be  depressed  down  the 
near  side,  across  the  bottom  and  up  the  other  side 
without  a  break.  This  was  doubtless  the  case  in  some 
instances  where  now  the  wall  is  gone,  the  gully  sub 
sequently  carrying  away  the  transversing  embank 
ment.  Again  in  places,  as  may  be  seen,  the  gully  was 
filled  with  the  base  of  the  wall,  the  summit  level  of 
the  wall  presenting  no  irregularity  or  depression. 

From  "T"  to  "IT"  are  three  long  stretches  of  strong 
walls.  The  entire  length  faces  a  terrace,  too  ill-de 
fined  and  too  natural  appearing  to  claim  artificiality, 
at  least  to  the  eye  of  the  layman.  Along  this  ledge 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.        107 

were  found  burials  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  these 
terrace  graves  are  almost  confined  to  the  hillsides  of 
the  Old  Fort,  a  few  being'  discovered  on  the  slight 
spurs  beneath  the  west  wall  of  the  isthmus.  Whether 
the  existence  of  these  burials  in  connection  with  the 
Honth  Fort  strengthens  the  claim  of  a  greater  age  for 
it  than  for  the  North  Fort,  we  do  not  assume  to  say. 

THE  CEMETERY. 

In  the  center  of  the  Old  Fort  was  located  the  ceme 
tery,  the  largest  burying  ground  of  the  fort  people. 
Within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  feet,  in  all  directions, 
some  three  hundred  graves  were  found  and  over  a 
thousand  wagon  loads  of  stones  were  removed  there 
from  by  different  excavators.  Professor  Moorehead 
found  twenty  skeletons.  The  graves  were  sunk  an 
average  deptli  of  two  and  one-half  feet,  and  were 
formed  of  limestones  which  were  plentiful  in  the 
ravines  and  river  bottom  below.  The  stones  were 
arranged  around  the  sides,  head  and  feet  and  over 
the  remains  of  the  interred  bodies.  We  reproduce, 
by  permission,  an  illustration  from  Mr.  Moorehead's 
work,  of  one  of  these  interments,  the  covering  layer 
of  stones,  of  course,  being  removed  so  as  to  expose  the 
skeleton.  Buried  with  it  were  a  large  spear-head  of 
yellow  flint,  remains  of  broken  pottery  and  a  large 
stone  celt,  a  chisel  or  axe.  The  skeletons  were  in  vari 
ous  stages  of  decomposition  and  generally  crumbled  to 
dust  on  being  exposed.  The  space  between  the  en 
circling  stones  and  the  body  was  usually  filled  in  with 


108 


Master  piece  8  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


earth.  The  graves  in  this  cemetery  were  almost  uni 
form  in  construction.  These  skeletons  showed  little 
or  no  difference  in  size  and  form  from  the  modern 
conventional  skeleton.  The  "skulls  Avere  well  shaped/' 


Stone  Grave  and  Skeleton  as  Found  by  Prof. 
Moorehead  in  the  Cemetery  of  the  Old  Fort. 

and  Professor  Moorehead  thinks,  presented  two  types 
of  mentality,  a  lower  and  a  higher  order.  He  further 
claims  that  the  tree  growths  surmounting  some  of 
these  graves  indicated  that  the  burials  antedated  the 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders         109 

period  when  the  Indians  were  known  to  have  first 
immigrated  into  or  occupied  this  portion  of  the  coun 
try;  i.  e.,  the  post-Columbian  historic  tribes,  such  as 
the  DelaAvares,  Shawnees,  etc.  Mr.  Warren  Cowen 
for  the  past  ten  years  the  custodian  of  the  Fort, 
states  that  he  removed  from  the  space  including  the 
cemetery  the  stump  of  a  walnut  tree  which  a  dis 
tinguished  botanist  estimated  to  be  between  four  and 
five  hundred  years  old.  The  conclusion  however, 
that  the  fort  antedates  the  Indian  invasion  is  ques 
tioned  by  some  archaeologists  and  ethnologists. 
When  doctors  disagree,  who  shall  decide?  The  reader 
pays  his  money --for  this  book  —  and  takes  his 
choice.  There  can  be  no  absolute  decision. 

The  graves  on  the  terraces  Avere  in  the  main  simi 
lar  in  construction  and  contents  to  those  found  in 
the  interior  of  the  cemetery.  In  many  cases  the 
stones  were  more  plentifully  employed.  Some  of  the 
terrace  graves  contained  a  combined  number  of  bur 
ials;  a  sort  of  group  tomb.  One  "tomb,"  located 
on  the  ledge  west  of  the  Old  Fort  and  overlooking  the 
Miami  valley,  which  Prof.  Moorehead  mentions,  con 
tained  in  its  makeup  a  quantity  of  stones  equal  to 
one  hundred  wagon  loads;  when  found  they  were 
lying  in  a  layer  two  feet  thick  and  spread  over  a 
space  twenty  feet  wide  —  the  width  of  the  terrace  — 
and  fifty  feet  long.  It  required  the  labor  of  three 
men  for  two  days  to  displace  the  loose  masonry  of 
this  crude  mausoleum.  Fragments  of  twenty  skele 
tons  were  exhumed  from  -this  plural  grave.  The 


110        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

skulls  were  crushed,  the  jaws  broken,  the  body  bones 
wasted  and  scattered,  but  such  leg  and  arm  pieces  as 
were  found  entire  testified  by  their  size  and  shape 
that  the  deceased  were  people  about  the  same  stature 
as  the  present  Americans,  though  "with  greater 
strength  and  powers  of  endurance."  If  there  were 
giants  in  those  days,  as  some  ethnologists  would  have 
us  believe,  they  were  not  in  evidence  at  Fort  Ancient, 
so  far  as  the  "exhibits"  prove.  Many  children  were 
buried  on  the  terraces. 

GRAND  VIEW  POINT. 

But  we  turn  from  these  sepulchral  features  of  the 
fort  to  "take  a  more  cheerful  view."  This  is  ob 
tained  from  the  sharp  angle  of  the  wall  at  "U."  We 
call  it  Grand  View  Point.  A  smart  spur  of  the  hill 
juts  out  over  the  valley  depths.  The  spectator  is 
on  the  highest  eminence  of  the  hill  and  looks  north 
upon  an  amphitheatre;  a  circle  of  hills  rise  on  all 
sides  and  enclose  the  valley  and  river  of  the  Miami; 

"Rock,    river,    forest,    mountain,    all    abound." 

Whether  the  Mound  Builder  was  consciously  or 
unconsciously  touched  with  the  spell  of  pleasing  scen 
ery,  he  invariably  choose,  in  his  upland  habitations, 
locations  that  offered  the  most  attractive  display  of 
natural  beauty.  This  lookout  sweeps  a  vista  that 
one  is  loth  to  leave;  the  historic  Little  Miami  here 
passes  through  the  most  picturesque  setting  of  its 
entire  course ;  the  forest  clad  hills  gently  slope  to  the 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders         111 

grain  clothed  fields,  through  which  the  river  grace 
fully  winds.  From  this  vantage  place,  too,  can  be 
seen  the  full  mile  length  of  the  western  wall,  crown 
ing  with  its  undulating  height  and  deviating  curv- 
ings  the  zigzag  summit  of  the  hill,  the  steep  side  of 
which  is  slashed  with  gullies  and  streaked  Avith  the 


Little  Miami  Valley  Looking  North  from  Grandview  Point 

gravel  and  alluvial  deposits  of  a  glacial  period,  for 
ages  or  eons  ago,  the  geologists  say,  this  peaceful 
and  verdure  adorned  valley  was  a  lake,  upon  which 
colossal  cakes  of  ice  floated  and  bumped  against  each 
other.  Many  of  these  ice  floats  were  driven  by  the 
winds  or  shoved  in  the  'push"  upon  the  hillsides  and 


112        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

there  dumped  their  loads  of  sand  and  debris.  This 
western  hillside  was  once  well  covered  with  the  gla 
cial  floatage.  The  ravines  came  later,  tearing  away 
the  gravel  covering  and  digging  into  the  clay  and 
limestone  of  the  hill.  Thus  there  were  great  geolog 
ical  "goings  on"  in  these  parts  before  the  Mound 
Builders  came  upon  the  scene  of  action.  We  could 
not  qualify  as  an  expert  on  this  subject,  but  we  offer 
the  probability  that  the  so-called  "terraces"  above 
mentioned  were  not  hand-made  by  the  Mound  Build 
ers  but  rather  were  the  handiwork  of  the  geological 
activities,  long  "before  the  Avar"  of  the  Mound  Build 
ers.  We  are  upheld  in  this  position  by  the  fact  that 
similar  platforms  are  found  on  the  hill  slopes  of  the 
opposite,  western  side,  of  the  valley,  where  the  Mound 
Builder  left  no  evidences  of  his  habitation  or  pres 
ence.  Professor  Moorehead,  however,  insists  that 
these  terraces,  or  at  least  some  of  them,  are  artificial ; 
that  they  Avere  built  by  men  and  used  as  burial  sites 
and  vantage  ground  in  Avar.  He  says  "The  claim 
that  these  Avere  made  by  glacial  action  and  haA7e  no 
work  of  man  about  them,  cannot  be  substantiated.  It 
is  not  possible  that  water  could  deposit  so  regular  a 
line  for  so  long  a  distance.  MoreoA^er,  these  terraces 
are  not  gravel;  they  are  limestone  clay;  and  their 
formation  could  not  result  from  glacial  action." 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


113 


STONES  IN  WALL. 

But  we  resume  our  trudging  along  the  wall  top. 
We  follow  the  "battlements/7  swerving  in  and  out, 
descending  the  end  of  each  separate  section,  spring 
ing  across  the  opening,  and  up  again  on  the  opposite 


West  Wall,  North  Fort  near  Entrance  to  Middle  Fort. 

side  of  the  gateway,  here  and  there  coming  abruptly 
face  to  face  with  a  washout  or  gully;  some  of  these 
we  descend  to  clamber  up  the  corresponding  accliv 
ity;  occasionally  a  wall  gap  is  "too  fierce  to  tackle" 
and  we  go  around  and  resume  the  wall  at  its  continu 
ation.  This  Avail,  by  the  way,  is  composed  almost  en 
tirely  of  the  soil  from  the  fort  interior,  as  before 


114        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


stated.  Stones  however  are  used,  often  at  the  gateway 
ends,  to  better  secure  their  retention  of  form;  again 
where  the  wall  is  unusually  large  or  the  descent  on 
the  outside  especially  precipitous,  stones  are  used  as 
"steadiers"  or  strength  and  form  retainers.  Portions 
of  the  west  wall  on  the  isthmus  are  said  to  be  com 
posed  almost  entirely  of  stone.  In  two  or  three 

places,  for  a  short 
distance,  stones  were 
laid  on  the  wall  top 
as  a  sort  of  walk.  In 
some  places  Profes 
sor  Moorehead  found 
layers  of  stone 
through  the  center 
of  the  wall  as  re 
vealed  by  the  trans 
verse  cutting  of  the 
gully.  At  one  point 
the  wall  seemed  to 
have  been  built  in  two 
Ravine  Back  of  Custodian's  House.  horizontal  sections 

with  time  interven 
ing;  built  half  way  up,  covered  with  a  layer  of  stones 
and  then  left  till  it  was  grown  over  with  grass  and 
small  sprouts  and  covered  with  vegetable  matter. 
Upon  this  beginning  a  subsequent  layer  of  earth  and 
stones  was  placed  to  complete  the  wall.  But  the  for 
tifications  seem  in  the  main  to  have  been  erected  by 
one  continuous  labor.  Stones  were  seldom  used  ex- 


Masterpiece*  of  tlic  Mound  Builders. 


115 


cept  at  the  gateway  ends  and  where  the  wall  might 
need  especial  strengthening  as  the  toughness  of  the 
soil  composing  the  wall  gave  it  sufficient  self-sustain 
ing  trength  and  permanency. 

Passing  north  along  the  west  wall  of  the  isth 
mus  we  re-enter  the  New  Fort,  the  southern  and 
western  wall  of  which  is  badly  broken  by  wide 


West  Wall   (North)  Fort  Ancient. 

and  impassable  gullies,  the  main  one  of  which,  like 
an  immense  crack  in  the  hill,  extends  almost  to  the 
center  of  the  Fort.  The  opening  where  the  walls 
cease  on  either  side  is  two  hundred  feet  or  more 
across.  How  much  of  this  cavity  was  cut  before  the 
fort  Avas  reared,  is  hard  to  tell.  This  is  one  of  the 
gullies  the  geologist  might  wrestle  with  in  his  time 
calculations.  If  it  antedated  the  ancient  fortifiers, 


116        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

it  would  seem  natural  for  them  to  have  carried  the 
wall  along  the  sides  of  the  gap  to  estop  ingress  from 
the  gully.  The  wall-ends  on  each  side  appear  arti 
ficial,  i.  e.,  they  appear  to  terminate  as  originally  in 
tended  for  they  unquestionably  continue  down  the 
gully  side  gradually  tapering  off  till  lost  in  the  ravine 
bank;  possibly  there  was  little  or  no  intervening 
break  when  the  wall  Avas  built  and  that  a  whole  sec 
tion  of  the  defense  was  gradually  eaten  away.  We 
do  not  know.  All  other  vulnerable  points  on  the  hill 
were  so  carefully  and  laboriously  guarded,  the  appar 
ent  neglect  of  this  break  baffles  explanation.  Passing 
around  this  gully  we  soon  terminate  our  circumambu- 
lation  of  the  walls;  Ave  have  completed  the  great  cir 
cuit  ;  we  finish  at  the  pike  gateway,  where  we  entered. 
It  lias  been  a  strenuous  tramp  but  the  result  is  amply 
compensatory,  for  in  no  other  way  can  one  get  an 
adequate  idea  of  the  extent  and  ingenuity  of  the 
fort,  the  natural  advantage  of  the  hill,  and  the  scenic 
attractions  its  location  presents. 

THEORIES  CONCERNING  THE  FORT. 

We  have  seen  and  studied  this  vast  monument  of 
the  Mound  Builders,  the  greatest  architectural  pro 
duct  of  their  labor  and  genius  now  extant.  What 
does  it  all  mean?  Its  age  and  purpose  have  elicited 
every  variety  of  conjecture.  For  we  can  only  con 
jecture.  We  cannot  know.  Taking  into  account  the 
different  evidences  of  its  antiquity  —  geological, 
ethnological  and  archaeological  —  it  is  safe  to  say  it 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.         117 

was  completed  and  abandoned  at  least  five  hundred 
years  ago,  or  a  century  before  Columbus  discovered 
this  continent.  It  most  likely  was  in  existence  five 
hundred  years  before  that,  or  a  millenium  before 
now.  This  would  carry  us  back  to  the  heart  of  the 
Dark  Ages  in  European  events;  antedating  the  >7or- 
niau  Conquest  of  the  Anglo-Saxons;  to  the  time  of 
Alfred  the  Great,  before  the  conquering  Canute  or 
dered  back  the  waves  of  the  sea ;  before  Macbeth  mur 
dered  Duncan  and  before  the  Crusaders  began  their 
pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 

Who  the,  people  were  to  whom  the  builders  of 
this  fort  undoubtedly  belonged  we  will  discuss  later 
on.  We  say  this  "fort,"  because  every  reliable  evi 
dence  and  reasonable  inference  leads  to  that  conclu 
sion.  In  this  nearly  all  the  better  and  safer  scholars 
agree.  As  sustaining  the  "fort  theory"  we  quote 
from  the  article  in  Science  (1886)  by  Prof.  Cyrus 
Thomas,  certainly  one  of  the  highest  authorities  on 
the  prehistoric  works  in  America,  he  says,  speak-. 

of  Fort  Ancient : 


"That  it  was  built  and  intended  as  a  work  of  defense,  is  so 
apparent  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  there  should  be  conflicting 
opinions  on  this  point.  The  situation  chosen,  and  the  character  of 
the  work,  seem  sufficient  to  put  this  conclusion  beyond  all  doubt. 
Yet  there  are  few,  if  any,  satisfactory  indications,  aside  from  the 
character  and  extent  of  the  work,  that  any  portion  of  the  inclosed 
areas  was  occupied  for  any  considerable  length  of  time  as  a  village 
site.  That  a  work  of  such  magnitude  and  extent  could  have  been 
hastily  cast  up  for  temporary  protection,  by  a  savage,  or  even  a 
semi-civilized  people,  is  incredible.  Moreover,  there  are  reasons  for 


118        Masterpieces  of  the  Moiuid  Builders. 

believing  that  the  whole  fort  was  not  built  at  one  period  of  time, 
but  was  progressive.  The  southern  part  was  apparently  built  first, 
the  northern  section  being  a  subsequent  addition,  made  possibly  be 
cause  of  increase  in  the  population,  most  likely  by  the  incoming 
parties  or  clans  seeking  protection." 

It  would  be  entertaining  to  recite  all  the  curious 
purposes  attributed  to  this  work.  One  thinks  it  was 
a  great  relief  map  of  the  continent  of  North  and 
South  America,  the  lines  of  the  new  and  old  forts 
making  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  outline  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  Another  that  the  walls  of  the 
two  forts  resemble  two  great  serpents  turning  and 
twisting  in  a  deadly  conflict  —  as  the  serpent  was  the 
chief  symbol  of  those  primitive  people.  Another  re 
garded  it  an  immense  trap  to  secure  game.  The  hunt 
ers  would  form  lengthy  lines  the  country  around  and 
drive  the  buffalo,  deer  and  wild  game  into  this  corral, 
where  the  animals  could  be  retained  and  killed  at 
pleasure  —  a  sort  of  commercial  slaughter  house  or 
aboriginal  meat  trust!  Others  concluded  it  was  a 
vast  holy  temple,  in  which  religious  ceremonies  of 
great  and  imposing  nature  were  at  times  celebrated. 
Again  it  is  merely  a  walled  town,  but  mostly  it 
has  been  designated,  as  before  stated,  a  military 
fortress,  the  safe  retreat  and  refuge  for  the  popu 
lation  of  the  surrounding  country.  To  our  mind 
it  is  not  improbable  that  it  was  the  fortified  capital 
of  these  people  in  the  Ohio  valley.  May  it  not  have 
been  the  national  fortified  seat  of  government,  the 
federal  headquarters  of  the  confederated  tribes? 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


119 


Certainly  it  was  the  center  of  a  great  Mound  Builder 
population.  The  Miami  valley  in  this  neighborhood 
was  alive  with  these  people,  as  the  various  scientific 
explorations  indubitably  testify.  At  the  base  of  the 
fort  hill,  on  the  broad  bottom  of  the  river,  was  a  vil 
lage  site  great  in  extent;  one  mile  and  a  half  below 
the  southern  extremity  of  Fort  Ancient  was  "another 
large  village  covering  some  eight  or  ten  acres,  rich 
in  graves  and  debris.  Two  miles  up  the  river  is  still 
a  third,  so  large  that  it  must  have  been  occupied  by 
two  or  three  hundred  lodges  —  while  at  the  mouth 
of  Caesar  Creek,  six  miles  to  the  north,  are  two  ex 
tensive  sites,  one  in  the  bottom  and  the  other  upon 
the  hill  to  the  south."  All  these  were  carefully  ex 
plored  under  the  direction  of  Professor  F.  W.  Put 
nam,  of  the  Peabody  Institute.  These  sites  and  others 
abound  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Fort,  while 
the  whole  southwestern  part  of  the  state  is  an  area 
thickly  covered  with  the  remains  of  this  extinct  race, 
as  a  glance  at  the  archaeological  map  by  Professor 
Cyrus  Thomas  will  reveal. 

FORT  VILLAGE. 

That  the  fort  itself  was  to  a  certain  extent,  at 
least,  a  walled  city,  is  proven  by  the  remains  of 
a  "village"  explored  by  Professor  Moorehead.  This 
village  was  in  the  Old  Fort  and  adjacent  to 
the  cemetery  already  described.  The  evidences  were 
the  "circles"  of  burned  earth,  ash  heaps,  pot 
tery  and  animal  fragments,  bear,  deer  bones,  char- 


120        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 


coal,  burnt  stones,  etc.,  marking  the  places  where 
"wigwams"  or  lodges  had  been  erected.  In  short  the 
same  discoveries  that  disclose  village  sites  elsewhere. 
No  metal  implements  of  any  kind  were  found,  unless 
it  be  a  few  small  pieces  of  native  beaten  copper. 

These  lodge  circles  were 
from  22  to  30  feet  in 
diameter  the  soil  of  the 
area  enclosed  being  of  a 
different  color  from  the 
earth  outside.  T  h  e  s  e 
lodge  floors,  when  un 
covered,  AY  ere  found 
several  inches  beneath 
the  accumulating  surface 
soil.  In  the  moats  and 
ditches  buried  beneath 
the  later  filling  were 
found  similar  debris, 
suggesting  that  t  h  e  s  e 
habitations  occasionally 
occupied  the  inner  edge 
of  the  ditch  and  that 
"refuse  was  thrown  into  it  just  as  our  house- 
Avives  would  throw  rubbish  from  the  kitchen  into  a 
lake,  river  or  pond"  adjacent  to  the  house.  Thou 
sands  of  primitive  implements  used  in  war,  the  chase 
and  domestic  life,  arrow  and  spearheads,  axes,  skin 
ning  stones,  etc.,  were  found  in  the  fort  precincts, 
active  life  therein.  Outside  the 


Skull  of  Woman  Found  by  Prof. 

Moorehead  in  Stone  Grave  in 

the  Village    Site. 


indicating 


great 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.         121 

northeast  gateway  of  the  New  Fort,  a  short  distance 
away,  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Ridge  were  found  in  the 
area  of  about  an  acre  vast  quantities  of  flint  clip 
pings,  consisting  of  countless  pieces  of  unwraught 
flakes  and  innumerable  fragments  in  various  stages 
of  workmanship,  of  arrow  and  spear  heads,  knives, 
awls,  needles,  etc.  This  field  of  flint  must  have  been 
the  storehouse  or  "factory"  where  implements  used 
in  peace  and  war  were  made.  Professor  Moorehead, 
in  speaking  of  this  flint  field,  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  no  flint  in  natural  deposit  is  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Ancient.  Hence  all  this  raw  mate 
rial  must  have  been  brought  from  a  distance.  He 
notes  that  the  varieties  of  the  flint  here  found  indi 
cated  that  they  Avere  obtained  from  the  quarries  of 
Flint  Ridge,  Licking  county  (Ohio)  and  a  flint  quar 
ry  on  the  Ohio  River  in  Indiana.  In  both  the 
Old  and  New  Forts  were  found  several  small 
conical  or  circular  mounds,  usually  three  or  four  feet 
high  with  a  base  diameter  of  some  twenty  feet.  Noth 
ing  indicative  or  important  was  found  in  any  of  them. 
The  New  Fort  presented  no  such  indications  of  do 
mestic  life  as  did  the  Old.  The  latter  has  therefore 
been  regarded  as  more  exclusively  used  for  military 
purposes,  perhaps  a  Campus  Martins  where  the  war 
riors  were  stationed  and  drilled.  Judge  Hosea 
thinks : 

"Any  one  examining  these  works  must  come  to  the  con 
clusion  that  they  were  erected  for  defense,  and  that  by  a  race 
of  men  who  understood  something  of  the  art  of  war;  indeed, 


122        Master  piece*  of  the  Mound  Builder*. 

much  more  than  can  be  reasonably  attributed  to  the  roving  pro 
pensities  and  unstable  habits  of  the  American  Indian  aborigines 
found  upon  the  continent  by  the  first  discoverers  of  this  country. 
The  extent,  too,  of  these  workj,  viewed  in  the  light  of  military 
fortifications,  proves  beyond  peradventure  that  they  were  raised 
not  for  the  protection  of  a  tribe  more  or  less  numerous,  but  of 
a  powerful  people,  raised  to  war  and  used  to  \var's  alarms;  for 
within  these  formidable  lines  there  might  be  congregated,  at  a 
moment's  notice,  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  men,  with  all  their 
materials  of  war,  women,  children,  and  household  goods.  The 
Roman  legion,  we  are  told,  required  only  a  square  of  seven  hun 
dred  yards  to  effect  the  strongest  encampment  known  to  the 
ancients  of  Europe  and  Asia,  so  that,  upon  a  similar  basis,  the 
investment  of  these  fortifications  must  have  been  the  work  of  a 
very  formidable  body  of  men  indeed,  and  such  as  we  read  of 
only  in  the  great  wars  of  the  Roman  emperors  with  the  bar 
barous  hordes  that  swept  from  the  North,  or  the  masses  that 
were  hurled  upon  each  other  in  the  days  of  the  first  crusades.  The 
supposition  that  the  wrorks  were  of  a  military  character,  seems  to 
me  not  only  to  be  the  most  probable,  but  the  only  one,  in  the 
absence  of  any  clue,  history,  or  tradition,  in  the  minds  of  the 
aborigines,  that  can  be  reached." 

Judge  Force  concludes  that  "Fort  Ancient,  which 
would  have  held  a  garrison  of  sixty  thousand  men, 
with  their  families  and  provisions,  was  one  of  a 
line  of  fortifications  which  extended  across  this  state 
and  served  to  check  the  incursions  of  the  savages  of 
the  north  in  their  descent  on  the  Mound  Builders' 
country.  Certainly  this  structure  was  a  tremendous 
accomplishment  for  a  primitive  people." 

Like  all  the  other  works  of  this  early  people  Fort 
Ancient  was  unmistakably  the  product  of  builders 
who  wrought  only  with  the  tools  of  a  stone  age.  There 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.        123 

were  no  steam  shovels,  no  derrick  scoops  to  lift  the 
earth  and  dump  it  in  position  —  it  was  "hand  made." 
Not  even  horses,  mules,  oxen  or  wooden  sledges  facili 
tated  the  labor.  Though  in  justice  to  all  authorities 
it  should  be  noted  that  there  is  one  unique  theory  in 
favor  of  animal  aid.  Dr.  Frederick  Larkin  in  his 
"Ancient  Man  in  America7'  sedately  introduces  the 
suggestion  that  the  mastodon,  the  bones  of  which  are 
found  in  Ohio  and  elsewhere,  contemporaneously  with 
those  of  the  Mound  Builder,  was  a  "favorite  animal 
and  used  as  a  beast  of  burden v  by  them.  Mr.  Larkin 
then  seriously  declares  it  is  not  difficult  for  him  to 
believe  that  those  ancient  people  "tamed  that  monster 
of  the  forest  and  made  him  a  willing  slave  to  their 
superior  intellectual  power."  Such  being  the  case  he 
adds :  "We  can  imagine  that  tremendous  teams  have 
been  driven  to  and  fro  in  the  vicinity  of  their  great 
works,  tearing  up  trees  by  the  roots,  or  marching 
with  their  armies  into  the  field  of  battle  amidst  show 
ers  of  poisoned  arrows."  And  why  not?  The  ele 
phants  of  Alexander  and  Hannibal  did  no  less  cen 
turies  before  the  Christian  era. 

The  late  Dr.  Edward  Orton,  president  (1898)  of 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  and  one  of  the  foremost  scientists  this  coun 
try  has  produced,  in  an  address  before  the  members 
of  the  Ohio  State  Legislature  (March,  1898),  upon 
Fort  Ancient,  said: 


124        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

"The  first  point  that  I  make  is  that  the  builders  of  Fort  An 
cient  selected  this  site  for  their  work  with  a  wide  and  accurate 
knowledge  of  this  part  of  the  country. 

"You  all  know  of  the  picturesque  location,  in  the  beautiful  and 
fertile  valley  of  the  Little  Miami,  on  the  table-land  that  bounds 
and  in  places  almost  overhangs  the  river,  and  which  is  from  two 
hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  river  level.  Avail 
ing  themselves  of  spurs  of  the  old  table-land  which  were  almost 
entirely  cut  off  by  gorges  tributary  to  the  river,  they  ran  their 
earth  walls  with  infinite  toil  in  a  tortuous,  crenulated  line  along 
the  margins  of  the  declivities.  Where  the  latter  were  sharp  and 
precipitous  the  earth  walls  were  left  lighter.  Where  it  became 
necessary  to  cross  the  table-land,  or  where  the  slopes  were  grad 
ual,  the  walls  were  made  especially  high  and  strong.  The  eye  and 
brain  of  a  military  engineer,  a  Vauban  of  the  olden  time,  is  clearly 
seen  in  all  this.  We  cannot  be  mistaken  in  regard  to  it  when  we 
thus  find  the  weak  places  made  strong,  and  the  strong  places  left 
as  far  as  possible  to  their  own  natural  defenses.  The  openings 
from  the  fort,  also,  lead  out  in  every  case  to  points  easily  made 
defensible  and  that  command  views  from  several  directions. 

"In  the  second  place  we  cannot  be  mistaken  in  seeing  in  the 
work  of  Fort  Ancient  striking  evidences  of  an  organized  society, 
of  intelligent  leadership,  in  a  word,  of  strong  government.  A  vast 
deal  of  labor  was  done  here  and  it  was  done  methodically,  syste 
matically  and  with  continuity.  Here  again  you  must  think  of  the 
conditions  under  which  the  work  was  accomplished.  There  were 
no  beasts  of  burden  to  share  the  labors  of  their  owners ;  the  work 
was  all  done  by  human  muscles.  Baskets  full  of  earth,  each  con 
taining  from  a  peck  to  a  half  bushel,  borne  on  the  backs  of  men  or 
women,  slowly  built  up  these  walls,  which  are  about  four  miles  in 
length  and  which  have  a  maximum  height  of  not  less  than  twenty 
feet.  Reduced  to  more  familiar  measurements  the  earth  used  in 
the  walls  was  about  172,000,000  cubic  feet. 

"But  not  only  were  the  Mound  Builders  without  the  aid  of 
domestic  animals  of  any  sort,  but  they  were  also  without  the  ser 
vice  of  metals.  They  had  no  tools  of  iron;  all  the  picks,  hoes  and 


Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders.        125 

spades  that  they  used  were  made  from  chipped  flints,  and  mussel 
shells  from  the  river  must  have  done  the  duty  of  shovels  and 
scrapers.  In  short,  not  only  was  the  labor  severe  and  vast,  but  it 
was  all  done  in  the  hardest  way. 

"Can  we  be  wrong  in  further  concluding  that  this  work  was 
done  under  a  strong  and  efficient  government?  Men  have  always 
shown  that  they  do  not  love  hard  work,  and  yet  hard  work  was 
done  persistenly  here.  Are  there  not  evidences  on  the  face  of  the 
facts  that  they  were  held  to  their  tasks  by  some  strong  control  ?" 

He  then  facetiously  suggested  there  might  have 
been  political  "bosses"  in  those  days  to  gather  and 
control  the  "gang"  that  built  the  fort.  This  latter 
idea  is  inimitably  suggested  in  a  poem  by  Mr.  Osman 
C.  Hooper,  Avho  after  visiting  the  fort,  "threw  off" 
the  subjoined : 

Before  Ohio  knew  a  name,  a  thousand  years  ago, 

A  great  Cazique  stood  on  the  heights  and  watched  Miami's  flow ; 

Tall,  straight,  majestic  as  a  god,  he  looked  the  valley  o'er 

And  heard  the  hurrying  breeze  repeat  the  water's  sullen  roar. 

About  him  Nature  lay  full-garbed  in  leaf  and  blade  and  flower, 

While  he,  the  Boss,  stood  clothed  upon  with  little  else  but  power. 

Aloof  his  people  stood  and  gazed  —  a  trembling  lot  and  meek  — 
And  wondered  what  was  holding  fast  the  thought  of  the  Cazique ; 
Alert  to  execute  his  will,  they  waited  his  command 
And,  eager,  pressed  about  him,  at  the  beck'ning  of  his  hand. 
"What  wouldst  thou,  master?"  they  inquired.     "Our  hands  and  feet 

are  thine, 
Command,  and  thou  shalt  have  it  ere  the  sun  again  shall  shine ;" 

"What    do    I    want?     Look,    slaves,    and    see    the    beauteous    valley 

there, 
The  bending  sky,  the  teeming  soil  and  all  the  hues  they  wear; 


126        Masterpieces  of  the  Mound  Builders. 

Behold  the  stream  that  leaps  and  laughs  and  roars  and  then  is  still; 
Look  on  this  bit  of  heaven  dropped  within  this  bowl  of  hill. 
Can  ye  behold  nor  guess  the  wish  that  in  my  mind  has  birth?" 
He  paused,  and  loud  the  thousands  cried,  "Our  lord  would  have  the 
earth." 

''E'en  so  !"  the  great   Cazique  replied.     "You  boast  of  what   things 

you 

Can  do  before  the  morrow's  sun  drinks  up  the  morning  dew ; 
But  I  am  lenient,  O  slaves,  and  give  you  just  a  year 
To  get  the  earth  and  bring  it  in  its  wondrous  beauty  here." 

He  ceased  to  speak  and  waved  his  hand  to  bid  his  people  go ; 
And  straight,  ten  thousand  dusky  forms,  like  arrow  from  a  bow, 
Sped  to  the  work,  each  with  a  bowl  and  shell  for  digging  lit, 
And  scratched  the  earth  and  took  the  soil  and  all  that  grew  in  it. 

Then,   bowl   by   bowl,   they   bore   the   earth   to   where    the   monarch 

stood 

And  piled  it  on  the  height  where'er  his  eye  considered  good ; 
They  dug  and  carried,  night  and  day,  from  brown-leafed  fall  to  fall, 
And  thus  they  built  upon  the  height  a  wondrous  earthen  wall 
Upon  their  work  the  monarch  looked,  then  glanced  the  valley  o'er 
And  marvelled  that  the   earth  was  there  much  as  it  was  before. 
"Alas  !"  he  cried,  "they  toil  but  fail ;  my  wish  can  never  be ; 
But,  if  I  cannot  have  the  earth,  then  open,  Earth,  for  me !" 

And  thus  he  died,  this  early  Boss  of  all  that  mighty  clan ; 
His  aim  was  high  like  every  aim  of  the  Ohio  man  ; 
He  failed,  but  still  did  good  and  so  quite  justified  the  birth 
Of  that  desire  within  his  breast  to  have  and  own  the  earth. 


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